92 


THE 

MODERN   TRAVELLER. 


VOLUME  THE  FIRST. 


PALESTINE. 


THE 


MODERN    TRAVELLER/ 

A 

DESCRIPTION, 

GEOGRAPHICAL,  HISTORICAL,  AND  TOPOGRAPHICAL, 

OP  THE 

VARIOUS   COUNTRIES   OF   THE    GLOBE. 

IN  THIRTY  VOLUMES. 

BY    JOSIAH    CONDER. 

VOLUME  THE  FIRST. 


LONDON: 
JAMES   DUNCAN,  37,  PATERNOSTER  ROW. 

MDCCCXXX. 


IS. 


LONDON : 

Printed  by  W.CLOWES, 
Stamford-Street. 


TO 


THE    KING, 


UNDER  WHOSE  PACIFIC  SCEPTRE, 

DIVINE  PROVIDENCE  HAS  PLACED  MORE  THAN  A  SIXTH  PORTION 
OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE  5 

THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  MONARCH  OF  THE  BRITANNIC  ISLANDS; 

THE  KING  OF  HANOVER; 
THE  LORD  HIGH  PROTECTOR  OF  IONIAN  GREECE  ; 

THE  SOVEREIGN  PARAMOUNT  OF  INDIA,  CEYLON,  AND  AUSTRALIA 

AND 

PROTECTOR  OF  THE  POLYNESIAN  ISLANDS  ; 

THE  LORD  OF  SOUTHERN  AFRICA  AND  SENEGAMBIA, 

OF  THE  WESTERN  INDIES, 
THE  CANADAS,  AND  NORTHERNMOST  AMERICA  : 


iS  Attempt 


TO  PRESENT  AN  ACCURATE    AND   AUTHENTIC  DESCRIPTION   OF 

THE  VARIOUS  COUNTRIES  OF  THE  GLOBE, 
DRAWN  CHIEFLY  FROM  THE  REPORTS  OF  BRITISH  TRAVELLERS, 

is, 

WITH    HIS   MAJESTY'S   GRACIOUS   PERMISSION, 
MOST  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED, 
AS  THE  HOMAGE  OF 

HIS  MAJESTY'S  HUMBLE  SERVANT, 
AND  LOYAL  SUBJECT, 

JOSIAH  CONDER. 


PREFACE. 


THE  best  extant  collection  of  Voyages  and  Trarels  in 
the  language,  extends  to  seventeen  very  large  and 
closely  printed  quarto  volumes.  But  in  that,  or  any 
similar  work,  the  reader  would  in  vain  seek  for  an 
accurate  account  of  the  present  state  of  a  single  country 
on  the  face  of  the  globe.  Amusing  and  often  valuable 
as  are  the  recitals  of  the  older  travellers,  they  of  neces- 
sity abound  with  obsolete  errors ;  they  are  generally 
barren  of  scientific  information ;  and  much  of  the 
information  they  contain,  is  out  of  date. 

Were  a  collection  of  Voyages  and  Travels  to  be  now 
published,  in  order  to  have  any  claim  to  complete- 
ness, it  could  not  be  comprised  in  less  than  fifty  or 
sixty  quarto  volumes, — the  size  of  an  Encyclopaedia  ; 
and  after  all,  the  collection  would  present  only  the 
crude  materials  of  geographical  knowledge,  without 
order  or  arrangement. 

To  give  the  results  of  modern  discovery,  combined 
with  our  previous  stock  of  information,  in  a  succinct 
and  popular  form,  so  as  to  exhibit,  at  one  view,  the 
present  state  of  our  knowledge  with  regard  to  each 
particular  country  traversed  by  European  Travellers, 
was  the  object  proposed  in  undertaking  the  present 
work.  The  only  publication  in  which  this  had  been 


8  PREFACE. 

attempted  with  any  degree  of  competent  ability,  is  the 
Geography  of  M.  Malte  Bnin.  In  his  steps,  it  were 
no  disgrace  to  follow.  His  plan,  however,  is  some- 
what different ;  the  topographical  description  is  for 
the  most  part  extremely  brief  and  hurried,  while 
the  dissertations  are  extended  beyond  what  might 
seem  proper  in  a  popular  work ;  added  to  which, 
the  researches  of  English  and  other  Travellers 
have  very  considerably  enlarged  our  means  of  infor- 
mation since  the  commencement  of  his  admirable 
publication. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  advert  to  the  geographical 
articles  contained  in  the  Encyclopaedias,  which  are, 
in  general,  as  meagre  as  they  are  inaccurate.  An 
honourable  exception  may  be  made  in  favour  of  the 
articles  in  the  Encyclopaedia  Metropolitana.  Still, 
topographical  detail  is  necessarily  precluded  in  such 
works  ;  and  the  information  sought  for  is  often  dis- 
tributed through  different  volumes.  It  is  also  a  seri- 
ous drawback  upon  the  value  of  all  such  compilations, 
that  no  references,  except  of  a  very  general  nature, 
are  made  to  authorities. 

It  has  been  made  a  marked  feature  of  the  present 
work,  that  authorities  are  specifically  and  minutely 
cited  for  every  statement ;  so  that  the  reader  has  not 
only  a  pledge  that  the  information  has  been  faithfully 
and  scrupulously  drawn  from  the  original  sources 
which  are  cited,  but  he  is  in  no  case  required  to  take 
the  statement  implicitly  upon  the  Editor's  authority, 
the  means  of  verification,  or  of  detecting  any  error, 
being  always  afforded  him.  In  no  case  has  any  au- 
thority been  cited,  that  has  not  been  actually  consulted. 
In  the  topographical  description,  copious  extracts  have 
been  freely  introduced,  whenever  the  language  of  the 
respective  writers  could  be  employed  to  advantage. 


PREFACE.  9 

But,  as  regards  more  especially  the  geographical  sur- 
vey and  the  historical  narrative,  the  publication  is,  to 
an  extent  which  the  Editor  did  not  contemplate,  an 
original  work. 

The  labour  has  not  been  slight,  of  wading  through 
so  large  a  mass  of  reading,  amounting  to  many 
hundred  volumes.  But  this  has  not  been  the  most 
arduous  part  of  the  Editor's  task.  Owing  to  the  con- 
flicting nature  of  the  details,  in  numerous  instances, 
it  has  cost  no  small  pains  to  reconcile  the  discordant 
statements,  or  to  determine  which  authority  to  follow ; 
and  a  critical  estimate  of  each  work  has  often  been 
a  preliminary  task  of  indispensable  necessity.  The 
most  popular  work  has  not  always  been  found  the 
most  trustworthy,  or  the  most  replete  with  substantial 
information.  On  the  contrary,  the  most  valuable 
materials  have  not  unfrequently  been  extracted  from 
the  dullest  volumes. 

It  was  one  part  of  the  plan,  so  to  arrange  the  vo- 
lumes that  the  description  of  any  country  might  be  sold 
separately.  To  adhere  to  this  arrangement  has  often 
been  extremely  difficult,  as  it  has  required  the  Editor 
not  only  to  complete  within  a  given  time,  but  to  com- 
press within  a  given  quantity,  the  description  of  a 
country.  In  a  few  instances,  it  has  therefore  been 
necessary  to  connect  two  countries,  as  Syria  and  Asia 
Minor,  Persia  and  China,  Spain  and  Portugal,  Peru 
and  Chile,  in  order  to  preserve  uniformity  in  the  size 
of  the  volumes. 

The  proportion  of  the  work  assigned  to  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  several  countries,  will  not  always  be  found 
to  answer  to  the  extent  of  territory,  nor  even  to  the 
anticipations  of  the  reader.  It  will,  however,  be 
readily  perceived,  why  an  entire  volume  is  devoted  to 


10  PREFACE. 

Palestine,  a  small  province  of  the  Turkish  empire, 
and  two  volumes  to  Greece.  On  the  other  hand, 
China,  Abyssinia,  and  Chile  may  seem  to  occupy 
much  too  inconsiderable  a  proportion.  But  the  de- 
signation of  the  work  will  remind  our  readers,  that 
its  primary  design  was,  to  give  the  researches  of 
Modern  Travellers,  and  that  countries  untraversed  by 
Europeans  could  with  little  propriety  be  the  subject 
of  extended  description.  The  vague  and  prolix  nar- 
ratives of  the  Missionaries  and  older  travellers,  in 
which  much  that  is  curious  is  obsolete,  and  much  that 
is  entertaining  is  of  doubtful  authority,  it  formed  no 
part  of  our  plan  to  submit  to  any  process  of  abridge- 
ment or  analysis.  In  the  geographical  sketch  which 
is  given  of  those  countries,  the  present  state  of  our 
actual  information  will  be  found  fairly  exhibited. 

The  order  of  publication  in  which  the  volumes  ap- 
peared, was  in  some  measure  arbitrary  and  accidental, 
although  partly  regulated  by  the  public  interest  attach- 
ing to  the  particular  country  at  the  time.  And  the 
Editor  esteems  it  as  a  most  fortunate  circumstance, 
that,  while  endeavouring  to  gratify  this  interest,  he 
has  uniformly  been  enabled,  by  the  unanticipated 
publication,  at  that  precise  moment,  of  some  important 
work  relating  to  the  country  in  hand,  to  avail  him- 
self of  the  latest  authorities.  With  regard  to  the 
countries  described  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  series, 
little  additional  information  has  since  been  furnished. 
But,  had  India  been  given  before  the  publication  of 
Bishop  Heber's  most  interesting  Journal, — had  the 
description  of  Africa  been  completed  prior  to  the 
appearance  of  the  volumes  by  Captain  Beechey, 
M.  Pacho,  and  the  last  journal  of  Captain  Clapperton, 
— had  Peru  been  given  at  an  earlier  period  of  the  revo- 
lutionary contest, — or  had  our  description  of  the  United 


PREFACE.  11 

States  been  compiled  on  less  recent  information, — 
the  value  of  the  work  would,  without  any  blame  at- 
taching to  its  Editor,  have  been  materially  diminished. 
He  is  happy,  therefore,  to  acknowledge  his  great  ob- 
ligations to  the  interesting  volumes  he  has  alluded  to. 
It  is  at  the  same  time  'as  collated  and  combined  with 
our  previous  information,  that  their  contents  acquire 
their  chief  permanent  value. 

To  the  general  reader,  the  historical  account  of  the 
various  countries  will  perhaps  be  the  most  interesting 
portion  of  the  work,  as  it  is  that  which  has  cost  the 
most  labour,  and  required  the  most  care.  This,  in 
some  instances,  is,  of  necessity,  far  more  minute  and 
extended,  than  was  thought  requisite  in  others.  The 
ancient  history  of  Egypt,  of  Persia,  and  of  Arabia, 
forms  an  indispensable  introduction  to  their  modern 
geography.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Editor  has  not 
affected  to  give  a  history  of  Ancient  Greece  ;  but  a 
full  and  fair  account,  he  flatters  himself,  will  be  found, 
of  the  revolution  which  has  restored  Modern  Greece 
to  the  name  of  a  country.  A  description  of  Mexico 
would  have  been  very  incomplete  without  the  iiistory 
of  Its  conquest  by  Cortes,  or  of  the  recent  revolution 
which  has  established  its  independence.  Of  the  South 
American  Revolution  also,  recent  documents  have 
enabled  him  to  give  a  complete  history. 

Of  the  four  volumes  devoted  to  India,  (a  large  and 
yet  inadequate  portion  of  the  work,)  nearly  two  are 
occupied  with  its  anci  ent  and  modern  history ;  but 
the  latter  will  be  found  to  comprise,  to  a  considerable 
extent,  a  topographical  description  of  the  country. 
In  entering  upon  the  boundless  field  of  investigation 
which  India  presents,  the  complicated  nature  of  the 
Editor's  labours  was  not  a  little  increased  by  the 


12  PREFACE. 

extremely  crude  and  imperfect  state  of  both  our 
geographical  and  statistical  knowledge  relating  to 
that  highly  interesting  region.  Of  this,  a  few  instances 
may  be  given.  Scarcely  two  geographers  are  agreed 
as  to  the  countries  which  ought  to  be  included  under 
that  appellation ;  and  in  both  the  names  and  the 
general  arrangement  of  the  provinces,  there  will  be 
found  considerable  variation  in  our  best  authorities. 
As  to  the  population  of  India,  a  difference  of  not  less 
than  thirty  millions  will  be  found  between  the  esti- 
mates of  Humboldt  and  Make  Brun.  As  to  its  ancient 
geography,  the  learning  of  D'Anville,  owing  to  the 
deficiency  of  his  information,  has  failed  to  decipher  it. 
In  his  day,  the  Burrampooter  was  unknown  as  one  of 
the  principal  rivers  of  India.  Major  Rennell's  in- 
valuable work  has  done  much  towards  illustrating  the 
geography  of  India  ;  but,  owing  to  the  same  circum- 
stances, much  of  it  is  hypothetical.  Since  its  publica- 
tion, some  particular  provinces  have  been  explored 
and  partially  described  by  military  writers ;  some  im- 
portant trigonometrical  surveys  have  been  executed ; 
and,  scattered  through  the  numerous  volumes  of  the 
Transactions  of  Learned  Societies  and  periodical  regis- 
ters and  journals,  are  to  be  found  highly  valuable 
illustrations  of  the  natural  and  political  history,  re- 
ligion, and  antiquities  of  Hindostan.  But  little  or 
nothing  has  been  effected  in  the  competent  and  scien- 
tific arrangement  of  these  stores  of  information. 

The  Editor  would  gladly  have  been  excused  from 
undertaking  so  laborious  and  delicate  a  task  as  that 
of  attempting  to  give  the  outlines  of  a  history  which, 
commencing  in  fable,  terminates  in  politics  ;  while 
the  intermediate  portion  embraces  a  complexity  of 
detail  which  it  is  particularly  difficult  to  bring  into 
order,  or  to  compress  into  a  succinct  narrative.  He 


PREFACE.  13 

\vishes  to  speak  with  the  utmost  diffidence  of  the 
manner  in  which  he  has  executed  his  task ;  but 
he  may  be  forgiven  for  pointing  out  what  he  has 
attempted. 

The  history  of  India  divides  itself  into  three  grand 
periods,  the  ancient  history,  the  Mohammedan  annals, 
and  the  history  of  the  European  colonies.  Its  ancient 
history,  of  which  a  brief  sketch  only  has  been  at- 
tempted, still  remains  to  be  competently  written. 
The  materials  for  illustrating  the  annals  of  the  Mo- 
hammedan  dynasties,  are  sufficiently  copious.  While 
Ferishta's  history  has  formed  the  basis  of  the 
sketch,  the  valuable  work  of  Major  Price,  the  interest- 
ing Memoirs  of  Baber,  Orme's  Historical  Fragments, 
Mr.  Mill's  spirited  outline,  and  even  Mr.  Maurice's 
ponderous  volumes,  have  been  diligently  consulted, 
and  have  contributed  largely  to  the  materials  of  the 
narrative.  The  History  of  British  India  occupies  the 
second,  and  part  of  the  third  volume.  This  was  of 
course  by  far  the  most  difficult  task.  When  it  is  re- 
collected, that  Mr.  Mill's  able  work,  extending  to  six 
closely  printed  volumes,  comes  down  no  later  than  the 
close  of  Lord  Wellesley's  administration  in  1806,  and 
that  the  brilliant  administration  of  Lord  Hastings, 
which  has  completed  and  consolidated  our  conquests 
in  India,  is  not  included  in  his  narrative,  the  mere 
labour  of  abridgement  will  be  seen  to  be  far  from 
inconsiderable.  Mr.  Mill's  History  is  itself  a  digest  of 
multifarious  and  discordant  materials  ;  and  his  nar- 
rative almost  defies  abridgement  by  its  conciseness. 
A  considerable  portion  of  his  volumes,  however,  is 
occupied  with  legal  and  political  disquisitions,  into 
which  it  has  not  been  deemed  proper  to  enter ;  and 
the  design  of  his  work  led  him  at  the  same  time  to 
confine  himslf  to  the  political  history  of  the  British 


14  PREFACE. 

possessions,  to  the  exclusion  of  many  interesting 
details  connected  with  the  general  history  of  India. 
Although,  therefore,  his  authority  has  been  chiefly 
followed,  so  far  as  available,  it  was  found  necessary  to 
have  recourse  to  other  sources  of  information ;  more 
especially  to  the  highly  interesting  and  valuable 
History  of  the  South  of  India,  by  Colonel  Wilks,  Sir 
John  Malcolm's  Political  History  of  India,  Major 
Grant  Duff's  History  of  the  Mahrattas,  and,  where 
Mr.  Mill's  history  terminates,  to  the  recent  publica- 
tions of  Mr.  Prinsep  and  Colonel  Valentine  Blacker. 
By  refraining  from  political  disquisition,  by  omitting 
or  compressing  the  military  and  legislative  details, 
and  by  observing  as  much  [conciseness  as  was  con- 
sistent with  distinctness,  the  Editor  has  endeavoured 
to  comprise  within  his  narrow  limits,  every  material 
fact,  and  to  present,  for  the  first  time  in  a  consecutive 
and  complete  form,  a  history  with  which  no  English- 
man ought  to  remain  unacquainted.  The  authorities 
which  it  has  been  found  necessary  to  consult  for  the 
history  and  description  of  India  alone,  and  to  which 
references  are  always  given,  amount  to  upwards  of 
sixty  quarto,  and  as  many  octavo  volumes. 

The  Notes  of  the  work  are  more  numerous 
and  sometimes  longer  than  the  Editor  could  have 
wished  ;  but  into  this  form  it  appeared  necessary 
to  throw,  first,  the  authorities  for  the  statements  in 
the  text,  and  what  may  be  called  the  various  read- 
ings, when  respectable  authorities  were  at  variance ; 
secondly,  illustrative  anecdotes,  which  would  have 
interrupted  the  description  or  narrative  ;  thirdly, 
etymological  explanations,  scriptural  references  when 
the  subject  admitted  of  Biblical  illustration,  and  occa- 
sionally such  brief  observations,  queries,  or  other  mis- 


PREFACE.  15 

ceDaneous  matter  as  the  Editor  has  ventured  on  his 
own  responsibility,  and  which  he  has  deemed  it 
better  to  offer  in  the  shape  of  comment,  than  of  text. 
He  has  strenuously  resisted,  however,  the  temptation 
to  deviate  into  any  lengthened  disquisition ;  and  has 
aimed  more  at  exciting  and  directing  further  inquiries, 
than  at  giving  expression  to  any  opinions  of  his  own 
upon  the  antiquarian  or  geographical  points  of  inquiry 
that  have  been  adverted  to.  In  fact,  to  facilitate 
the  labours  of  future  travellers,  and  to  enable  them  to 
turn  their  opportunities  to  better  account,  by  being 
put  iii  possession  of  the  results  of  previous  investiga- 
tion, has  been  one  main  object ;  and  it  is  in  this  way, 
the  Editor  flatters  himself,  that  the  work  is  destined 
to  advance  the  progress  of  knowledge.  With  this  view, 
the  routes  and  distances  have  been  laid  down,  so  far 
as  practicable,  with  a  minuteness  that  may  seem  un- 
necessary to  the  general  reader,  but  which  the  traveller 
in  foreign  lands  will  appreciate. 

Another  feature  of  the  work  upon  which  much 
care  has  been  bestowed,  is  the  statistical  tables,  exhi- 
biting the  corresponding  ancient  and  modern  territo- 
rial divisions,  the  extent  of  surface,  population,  &c. 
Of  the  tables  which  add  so  materially  to  the  value  of 
M.  Malte  Bran's  work,  the  Editor  has  of  course 
availed  himself ;  but,  in  most  cases,  he  has  found  it 
necessary  to  compile  them  from  more  recent  informa- 
tion, and  to  follow  his  own  judgement  in  the  geo- 
graphical arrangements.  It  is  to  be  lamented,  that 
no  work  on  geography  in  the  English  language,  (the 
translation  of  M.  Malte  Brun  excepted,)  has  any 
claims  to  scientific  accuracy. 

The  Editor  must  now  speak  of  the  assistance  he  has 
received  in  the  compilation  of  these  volumes.  Nothing 


16  PREFACE. 

was  further  from  his  intention,  when,  at  the  request 
of  the  Publisher,  he  drew  up  the  Prospectus  of  the 
work,  than  to  undertake,  by  himself,  a  labour  of  such 
magnitude ;  more  especially  under  the  disadvantages 
of  a  periodical  publication.  The  design  was,  to  engage 
several  hands  in  the  work.  The  volume  on  Russia 
was  accordingly  undertaken,  and,  for  the  most  part, 
written,  by  a  Gentleman  who  no  longer  lives  to  receive 
this  public  acknowledgement — the  late  W.  Stevenson, 
Esq.,  of  the  Treasury,  the  able  Editor  of  Kerr's 
Voyages  and  Travels.  Before,  however,  his  respected 
colleague  had  found  time  to  complete  his  task,  the 
Editor  had  been  compelled  by  circumstances  to  pro- 
duce, in  succession,  eighteen  parts  (nine  volumes)  of 
the  work  ;  and  the  experiment  convinced  all  parties, 
that  the  idea  of  employing  various  writers  to  concur 
in  the  same  precise  plan,  so  as  to  preserve  a  uniformity 
and  correspondence  in  the  different  parts  of  the  work, 
was  chimerical.  Mr.  Stevenson  was  not  anxious  to 
encounter  the  labour  of  a  second  task.  In  another 
quarter,  where  effective  assistance  had  been  looked  for 
in  the  description  of  Spain,  the  Editor  was  completely 
disappointed,  and  was  compelled  to  execute  the 
task  himself.  In  a  third  instance,  he  feels  bound  to 
acknowledge  his  obligations  to  Edward  Upham,  Esq., 
the  Author  of  the  "  History  of  Budhism,"  for  his 
contributions  to  the  volume  descriptive  of  Birmah. 
With  these  exceptions,  the  Editor  has  been  compelled 
to  take  upon  himself  the  undivided  labour  of  author- 
ship, at  some  risk  to  his  health,  and  at  the  complete 
sacrifice  of  his  leisure.  But  he  has  no  cause  to  regret 
on  his  own  account,  whatever  he  may  on  that  of  the 
public,  the  unforeseen  necessity  of  completing,  single 
handed,  a  work,  from  the  compilation  of  which  he  has 
reaped  so  much  pleasure  and  instruction. 


PREFACE.  17 

It  scarcely  belongs  to  the  Editor,  to  advert  to  the 
extreme  cheapness  of  the  work.  Yet,  it  is  due  to  the 
Publisher  to  point  out  the  fact, — that  every  volume 
contains  a  quantity  of  letter-press  equal  to  two  ordi- 
nary octavo  volumes  of  double  the  price. 

The  highly  flattering  and  encouraging  notice  that 
has  been  taken  of  the  work,  during  the  course  of 
publication,  by  the  various  literary  journals,  while 
it  has  materially  contributed  to  extend  its  sale  and 
popularity,  has  not  a  little  excited  the  Editor's  anxious 
efforts  to  render  it  as  worthy  as  possible  of  the  public 
approbation. 

It  only  remains  to  advert  to  what  has  not  been  ac- 
complished, and  what  it  would  have  been  impossible 
to  accomplish, — a  complete  description  of  all  the  coun- 
tries on  the  face  of  the  globe.  The  work,  it  will  be 
seen,  comprises  all  the  regions  of  the  East,  of  the 
western  hemisphere,  and  of  Africa,  which  are  accessi- 
ble to  the  European  traveller  ;  it  includes  a  description 
of  Eastern  Europe,  and  of  the  Western  Peninsula ; 
but  that  which  is  specifically  termed  the  Continent, 
that  is  to  say,  the  countries  formerly  comprised  in 
what  was  called  the  Grand  Tour, — France,  Germany, 
Holland,  Switzerland,  and  Italy,  are  passed  over.  No 
disappointment,  the  Editor  is^confident,  will  be  occa- 
sioned by  this  circumstance,  since  the  attempt  to  com- 
prise them  within  the  present  series  of  thirty  volumes, 
would  have  been  absurd.  They  belong  to  a  home 
circuit,  and  will  require  a  totally  different  plan  to  be 
pursued  in  describing  them.  Their  geography  re- 
quires little  or  no  illustration  ;  their  history  is  that 
of  Europe  ;  the  routes  are,  for  the  most  part,  laid 


18  PREFACE. 

down  in  the  road  books  ;  the  descriptions  of  their  most 
prominent  features  have  become  trite.  The  antiquary, 
the  naturalist,  and  the  topographer  find,  indeed,  in 
those  countries,  infinite  matter  for  their  respective 
pursuits ;  and  they  are  the  favourite  field  of  the  poli- 
tical philosopher.  But,  for  all  these  reasons,  they 
could  not  be  with  propriety  comprehended  in  the 
Popular  Description  we  have  given  of  the  less  fami- 
liar regions  of  remoter  lands.  If  we  may  be  allowed 
to  make  a  verbal  distinction,  we  should  say,  the  for- 
mer are  the  countries  of  the  tourist :  to  have  visited 
the  latter,  alone  entitles  the  adventurous  individual  to 
rank  as  a  traveller. 

Should  the  Editor's  life  and  health  serve  him,  it  is 
his  intention  to  comply  with  the  invitation  of  his 
Publisher,  in  attempting  a  description  of  the  neigh- 
bouring countries  in  a  series  of  distinct  works,  to 
appear  from  time  to  time  as  he  may  be  able  to  com- 
plete them ;  but,  after  the  unremitting  labours  of  six 
years,  it  is  with  no  ordinary  satisfaction  that  he  puts 
the  finishing  stroke  to  the  present  series,  and  finds 
himself  released  from  the  irksomeness  of  a  periodical 
engagement. 


ERRATA. 

[Most  of  the  following  inaccuracies  have  been  rectified  in  the 
greater  part  of  the  impression.] 

Vol.  I.    Palestine,  p.  22,  line  18,  read  twenty-three  hours  (or 

about  100  miles)  N.N.W.  of  Jerusalem. 
IV.    Arabia,  p.  27,  line  5,  for  Gondurz,  read  Goudurz. 
V.    Egypt,  vol.  i.  p.  170,  line  4  from  bottom,  for  families, 
read  individuals, 

VI.     vol.  ii.  p.  21,  line  26,  for  Great  Western  Oasis, 

read  the  Smaller  Oasis. 

vol.  ii.    p.   166,  note,   line  8,  for  Meltpa,  read 

Metopa. 

vol.  ii.  p.  228,  line  15,  for  Enamour,  read  Ain 

Amoor. 
VII.    India,  vol.  i,  p.  74,  line  23,  for  Manghir,  read  Monghir. 

vol.  i.  p.  79,  line  7  of  note,  for  boing,  read  being. 

vol   i.  p.  84,  line  12,  for  It  it,  read  It  is. 

vol.  i.  p.  92,  line  10,  dele  ". 

vol.  i.  p.  92,  line  20,  for  anpinga,  read  anhinga. 

vol.  i.  p.  102,  line  13,  read,  and  that  of,  &c. 

vol.  i.  p.  332,  line  3  of  note,  for  ironical,  read 

irenical. 

VIII       vol.  ii.  p.  14,  line  11,  for  1?40,  41,  read  1640,  41. 

' vol.  ii.  p.  37,  line  6  from  bottom,  for  Nazir  Jung, 

~ead  Muzuffer  Jung. 

vol.  ii  .0.  134,  note*,  read  The  secret  reason  is 

said  to  *iave  been,  that  the  Rajah  had  been 
guilty  of  borrowing  money  of  the  Dutch,  instead 
of  applying  to  the  great  folks  at  Madras. 

IX.      vol.  iii.    p.  35,  line  6  from  bottom,  read  the 

scorching  sands  of  Rajpootana,  and  the  wild 
jungles  of  Gujerat. 
XI.    Birmah,    p.  78,  line  14,  for  Brimans,  read  Birmans. 

p.  95,  line  5,  for  Binnah,  read  Birmah. 

p.  107,  line  3,  dele  or  Bahar. 

— —     p.  358,  note,  line  5  from  bottom,  read  which, 
I  understood,  was  done  by  the  present,  &c. 


ERRATA. 

Vol.  XII.  Persia,   vol.  i.  p.  129  note,/o>-  Asesmas,  read  Acesinos. 
XIII.  vol.  ii.  p.  67  note,  for  thirty  miles,  read  fifty. 

vol.  ii.  p.  129,  line  4,  for  at,  read  to. 

vol.  ii.  p.  259.  line  4,  for  long.  40°  E.,  read  long. 

48°  E.  (Kinneir),  &c. 

XV.  Greece,  vol.  i.  p.  139,  line  12,  for  Londari,  read  Leondari. 

vol.  i.  p.  139,  line  14,  for  Taygetum,  read  Tay- 

getus. 

XX.  Africa,   vol.  i.  p.  90,  for  and  falling ;  in  and,  read  and 

falling  in ;  and,  &c. 
vol.  i.  p.  183,  last  line,  for  vol.  i.,  read  vol.  ii. 

vol.  i.  p.  203,  line  12,  for  Vaudals,  read  Vandals. 

vol.  i.  p.  277,  line  14,  for  Getuilan,  read  Getu- 

lian. 

XXI. vol.  ii.  p.  347,  Hue  11,  for  maket,  read  market. 

XXVIII.  Peru,  p.  309,  line  3  from  bottom  of  note,  for  earth,  read 

hearth. 

XXIX.  Brazil,  vol.  i.  p.  16,  line  12,  for  north,  read  south. 

vol.  i.  p.  60,  line  I,  for  1819,  read  1809. 

vol.  i.  p.  94  note,  read  20  mil-rei*. 

vol.  i.  p.  136,  line  12,  for  Prussian,  read  Russian . 


CONTENTS. 


PAGJC 

BOUNDARIES  OF  PALESTINE I 

ANCIENT  GEOGRAPHY  ib. 

MODERN  POLITICAL  DIVISIONS 0 

POPULATION  AND  COSTUME    7 

NATURAL  HISTORY.  CLIMATE,  &c 11 

GENERAL  OUTLINE  OF  THE  COUNTRY 17 

ROUTE  FROM  ACRE  TO  JAFFA    18 

ROUTE  FROM  EL  ARISCH  TO  JAFFA  43 

ROUTE  FROM  JAFFA  TO  JERUSALEM 55 

DESCRIPTION  OF  JERUSALEM 69 

THE  MOSQUE  OF  OMAR 93 

THE  HOLY  SEPULCHRE 123 

THE  JEWS 138 

ICHNOGRAPHY,  POPULATION  OF  THE  CITY,  Sec.  141 

TRADE  AND  GOVERNMENT   148 

MOUNT  SIGN 149 

PLACES  WITHOUT  THE  WALLS 153 

MOUNT  OLIVET 168 

BETHLEHEM  172 

SOLOMON'S  POOLS  178 

ST.JOHN'S  IN  THE  DESERT  183 

SANTA  SABA 189 

IDEAL  VIEW  OF  ANCIENT  JERUSALEM 191 

ROUTE  FROM  JERUSALEM  TO  HEBRON  AND  THE 

MEAD  SEA 194 


VI  CONTENTS. 

PA  OR 

THE  DEAD  SEA 204 

ROUTE  TO  JERICHO  AND  THE  JORDAN 225 

ROUTE  TO  NABLOUS  AND  TIBERIAS 239 

LAKE  OF  TIBERIAS   285 

FROM  TIBERIAS  TO  NAZARETH 300 

FROM  NAZARETH  TO  SZALT    312 

MOUNT  TABOR , 314 

FROM  NAZARETH  TO  ACRE 323 

FROM  TIBERIAS  TO  DAMASCUS 330 

PANIAS    353 

CONCLUDING  REMARKS   363 

APPENDIX.    (A.)    NATURAL  HISTORY  367 

(B-)    GLOSSARY 369 

(C.)    DESCRIPTION,  &c. 370 

(D.)    DESIDERATA 3?1 


DIRECTIONS  FOR  PLACING  THE  PLATES. 

MAP  of  PALESTINE to  face  the  Title. 

VIEW  of  JERUSALEM 69 

• BETHLEHEM    173 

PLAN  of  JERUSALEM 370 


THE 

MODERN   TRAVELLER, 

ETC.  ETC. 


PALESTINE; 

OR, 

THE    HOLY   LAND. 

A  District  in  the  South-west  of  Syria,  lying  between  Lat.  31  and 

33£  N.,  and  Long.  34£  and  3?  E. ;  bounded  on  the  N.  by  the 

.     mountains  of  Libanus  and  Antilibanus ;  on  the  E.  by  the  Syrian 

Desert ;  on  the  S.  by  Arabia  Petraea  and  the  Desert  of  Suez; 

on  the  W.  by  the  Levant.] 

PALESTINE,  the  land  of  Israel,  the  kingdom  of 
David  and  Solomon,  the  most  favoured  and  the  most 
guilty  country  under  heaven ;  during  between  two 
and  three  thousand  years,  the  only  section  of  the 
arth  where  the  worship  of  the  true  God  was  per- 
petuated,— 

"  Over  whose  acres  walked  those  blessed  feet 
Which  eighteen  hundred  years  ago  were  nailed, 
For  our  advantage,  to  the  bitter  cross"  * 

this  most  interesting  of  countries  is  a  small  canton 
of  Syria,  included  within  the  limits  of  the  Turkish 

*  Shakspeare. 
PART  I.  B 


2  PALESTINE;  OR, 

empire,  and  governed  by  the  pashas  of  Acre  and 
Damascus.  In  the  map,  it  presents  the  appearance 
of  a  narrow  slip  of  country,  extending  along  the 
eastern  coast  of  the  Mediterranean;  from  which,  to 
the  river  Jordan,  the  utmost  width  does  not  exceed 
fifty  miles.  This  river  was  the  eastern  boundary  of 
the  land  of  Canaan,  or  Palestine,  properly  so  called, 
which  derived  its  name  from  the  Philistines  or  Pales- 
tines  originally  inhabiting  the  coast.  To  three  of  the 
twelve  tribes,  however,  Reuben,  Gad,  and  Manasseh, 
portions  of  territory  were  assigned  on  the  eastern  side 
of  the  river,  which  were  afterwards  extended  by  the 
subjugation  of  the  neighbouring  nations.  The  terri- 
tory of  Tyre  and  Sidon  was  its  ancient  border  on  the 
north-west ;  the  range  of  the  Libanus  and  Anti- 
libanus  forms  a  natural  boundary  on  the  north  and 
north-east ;  while  in  the  south,  it  is  pressed  upon  by 
the  Syrian  and  Arabian  deserts.  Within  this  cir- 
cumscribed district,  such  were  the  physical  advantages 
of  the  soil  and  climate,  there  existed,  in  the  happiest 
periods  of  the  Jewish  nation,  an  immense  population. 
The  men  able  to  bear  arms  in  the  time  of  Moses, 
somewhat  exceeded  600,000 ;  which  computation, 
when  the  Levites  (20,000)  and  women  and  children 
are  added,  will  give  nearly  two  millions  and  a  half  as 
the  amount  of  the  population — as  large  as  that  of 
Sweden.*  The  kingdom  of  David  and  Solomon, 
however,  extended  far  beyond  these  narrow  limits. 
In  a  north-eastern  direction,  it  was  bounded  only 
by  the  river  Euphrates,  and  included  a  considerable 
part  of  Syria.  It  is  stated,  f  that  Solomon  had  do- 

*  During  the  Roman  war  in  the  time  of  Josephus,  the  pro- 
vince of  Galilee  alone  furnished  an  army  of  100,000  men— Jos. 
til.  Jud.  lib.  ii.  cap.  20.  §  6- 
t  1  Kings  iv.  24. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  3 

minion  over  all  the  region  on  the  western  side  of  the 
Euphrates,  from  Thiphsah  (or  Thapsacua)  on  that 
river,  in  lat.  35°  20',  to  Azzah,  or  Gaza.  "  Tadmor 
in  the  wilderness"*  (Palmyra),  which  the  Jewish 
monarch  is  stated  to  have  built,  (that  is,  either 
founded  or  fortified,)  is  considerably  to  the  north- 
east of  Damascus,  being  only  a  day's  journey  from 
the  Euphrates ;  and  Hamath,  the  Epiphania  of  the 
Greeks,  ( still  called  Hamah,)  in  the  territory  belonging 
to  which  city  Solomon  had  several  "  store  cities,"  is 
seated  on  the  Orontes,  in  lat.  34°  45'  N.  On  the  east 
and  south-east,  the  kingdom  of  Solomon  was  extended 
by  the  conquest  of  the  country  of  Moab,  that  of  the 
Ammonites,  and  Edom  ;  and  tracts  which  were  either 
inhabited  or  pastured  by  the  Israelites,  lay  still  fur. 
ther  eastward.  Maon,  which  belonged  to  the  tribe 
of  Judah,  and  was  situated  in  or  near  the  desert  of 
Paran,  f  is  described  by  Abulfeda  as  the  farthest  city 
of  Syria  towards  Arabia,  being  two  days'  journey 
beyond  Zoar.  In  the  time  of  David,  the  people  of 
Israel,  women  and  children  included,  amounted,  on 
the  lowest  computation  to  five  millions,  besides  the 
tributary  Canaanites,  and  other  conquered  nations. 

The  vast  resources  of  the  country,  and  the  power 
of  the  Jewish  monarch,  may  be  estimated,  not  only  by 
the  consideration  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  con- 
temporary sovereigns  of  Egypt,  Tyre^  and  Assyria, 
but  by  the  strength  of  the  several  kingdoms  into 
which  the  dominions  of  David  were  subsequently 
divided.  Damascus  revolted  during  the  reign  of 
Solomon,  and  shook  off  the  Jewish  yoke.J  At  his 
death,  ten  of  the  tribes  revolted  under  Jeroboam,  and 

•  2  Chrots.  viii.  4.         f  Josh.  xv.  55.  1  Sam.  xxiii.  24 ;  xxv.  2. 
;  1  Kings  xi.  24, 25.    See  also  1  Kings  xx.  04. 


4  PALESTINE;  OR, 

the  country  became  divided  into  the  two  rival  king- 
doms of  Judah  and  Israel,  having  for  their  capitals 
Jerusalem  and  Samaria.  The  kingdom  of  Israel  fell 
before  the  Assyrian  conqueror,  in  the  year  B.C.  721, 
after  it  had  subsisted  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years.  That  of  Judah  survived  about  one  hundred 
and  thirty  years,  Judea  being  finally  subdued  and  laid 
waste  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  the  temple  burned, 
B.C.  588.  Idumea  was  conquered  a  few  years  after. 
From  this  period  till  the  era  of  Alexander  the  Great,. 
Palestine  remained  subject  to  the  Chaldean,  Median, 
and  Persian  dynasties.  At  his  death,  Judea  fell 
under  the  dominion  of  the  kings  of  Syria,  and,  with 
some  chort  and  troubled  intervals,  remained  subject 
either  to  the  kings  of  Syria  or  of  Egypt,  till  .John 
Hyrcanus  shook  off  the  Syrian  yoke,  and  assumed  the 
diadem,  B.C.  130.  The  Asmonean  dynasty,  which 
united,  in  the  person  of  the  monarch,  the  functions 
of  king  and  pontiff,  though  tributary  to  Roman  con- 
querors, lasted  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  years, 
till  the  kingdom  was  given  by  Anthony  to  Herod  the 
Great,  of  an  Idumean  family,  B.C.  39.* 

At  the  time  of  the  Christian  era,  Palestine  was 
divided  into  five  provinces  ;  Judea,  Samaria,  Galilee, 
Perea,  and  Idumea. f  On  the  death  of  Herod,  Arche- 


*  Thirty-five  years  before  the  true  date  of  our  Lord's  birth, 
which  is  computed  to  have  taken  place  four  years  before  the 
vulgar  era. 

t  The  tetrarchy  of  Judaea  consisted  of  the  tiibes  of  Judah, 
Benjamin,  Dan,  and  Simeon.  The  rest  of  the  Holy  Land, 
according  to  the  Roman  division,  consisted  of  Samaria,  Galilse, 
Peraea,  Decapolis,  Gaulonitis,  Galaaditis,  Batansea,  and  Auranitis. 
Samaria  contained  in  it  the  tribes  of  Ephraim,  Issachar,  and  the 
half  tribe  of  Manasseh.  Galilee,  the  tribes  of  Zabulon,  Asher, 
and  Naphthali.  Peraea,  on  the  other  side  of  Jordan,  consisted 
of  the  tribes  of  Gad  and  Reuben.  Decapolis  was  part  of  the 


THE  HOLY  LAND-  5 

laus,  his  eldest  son,  succeeded  to  the  government  of 
Judea,  Samaria,  and  Idumea,  with  the  title  of  te- 
trarch ;  Galilee  being  assigned  to  Herod  Antipas,  and 
Perea,  or  the  country  beyond  Jordan,  to  the  third 
brother,  Philip.  But  in  less  than  ten  years,  the 
dominions  of  Archelaus  became  annexed,  on  his  dis- 
grace, to  the  Roman  province  of  Syria,  and  Judea 
was  thenceforth  governed  by  Roman  procurators. 
Jerusalem,  after  its  final  destruction  by  Titus,  A.D. 
71,  remained  desolate  and  almost  uninhabited,  till 
the  emperor  Hadrian  colonized  it,  and  erected  temples 
to  Jupiter  and  Venus  on  its  site.  The  empress 
Helena,  in  the  fourth  century,  set  the  example  of 
repairing  in  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land,  to  visit 
the  scenes  consecrated  by  the  Gospel  narrative,  and 
the  country  became  enriched  by  the  crowds  of  devo- 
tees who  flocked  there.  In  the  beginning  of  the 
seventh  century,  it  was  overrun  by  the  Saracens,  who 
held  it  till  Jerusalem  was  taken  by  the  Crusaders  in 
the  twelfth.  The  Latin  kingdom  of  Jerusalem  con- 
tinued for  about  eighty  years,  during  which  the  Holy 
Land  streamed  continually  with  Christian  and  Sara- 
cen blood.  In  1187,  Judea  was  conquered  by  the 
illustrious  Saladin,  on  the  decline  of  whose  kingdom 
it  passed  through  various  revolutions,  and,  at  length, 
in  1317,  was  finally  swallowed  up  in  the  Turkish 
empire. 


half  tribe  of  Manasseh.  Gaulonitis  was  to  the  north  of  it. 
Galaaditis  was  a  hilly  country,  extending  from  Mount  Lebanon, 
through  the  half  tribe  of  Manasseh,  and  the  tribes  of  Gad  and 
Reuben.  Further  north,  in  the  half  tribe  of  Manasseh,  was 
Batanaea ;  and  more  northward  was  Auranitis,  or  Ituraea.  Beyouc 

this,  bordering  on  the  territory  of  Damascus,  was  Trachonitis 

POCOCKE'S  Travels,  book  L  chap.  1. 


6  PALESTINE;  OR, 

"  Trodden  down 

By  aU  in  turn,  Pagan,  and  Frank,  and  Tartar,— 
So  runs  the  dread  anathema, — trodden  down 
Beneath  the'  oppressor;  darkness  shrouding  thee 
From  every  blessed  influence  of  heaven ; 
Thus  hast  thou  lain  for  ages,  iron-bound 
As  with  a  curse.    Thus  art  thou  doomed  to  lie, 
Yet  not  for  ever." 

Palestine  is  now  distributed  into  pashalics.  That 
of  Acre  or  Akka  extends  from  Djebail  nearly  to 
Jaffa;  that  of  Gaza  comprehends  Jaffa  and  the  ad- 
jacent plains ;  and  these  two  being  now  united,  all 
the  coast  is  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Pasha  of 
Acre.  Jerusalem,  Hebron,  Nablous,  Tiberias,  and, 
in  fact,  the  greater  part  of  Palestine,  are  included  in 
the  pashalic  of  Damascus,  now  held  in  conjunction 
with  that  of  Aleppo,  which  renders  the  present  pasha, 
in  effect,  the  viceroy  of  Syria.  Though  both  pashas 
continue  to  be  dutiful  subjects  to  the  Grand  Seignior 
in  appearance,  and  annually  transmit  considerable 
sums  to  Constantinople  to  ensure  the  yearly  renewal 
of  their  office,  they  are  to  be  considered  as  tributaries, 
rather  than  subjects  of  the  Porte ;  and  it  is  supposed 
to  be  the  religious  supremacy  of  the  sultan,  as  caliph 
and  vicar  of  Mahommed,  more  than  any  apprehension 
of  his  power,  which  prevents  them  from  declaring 
themselves  independent.  The  reverence  shewn  for 
the  firmauns  of  the  Porte  throughout  Syria,  attests 
the  strong  hold  which  the  sultan  maintains,  in  this 
character,  on  the  Turkish  population.  The  pashas 
of  Egypt  and  Bagdad  are  attached  to  the  Turkish 
sovereign  by  the  same  ecclesiastical  tie,  which  alone 
has  kept  the  ill -compacted  and  feeble  empire  from 
crumbling  to  ruin. 

The  present  mixed  population  of  Palestine  consists 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  7 

of  Turks,  Syrians,  Bedouin  Arabs,  Jews,  Latin, 
Greek,  and  Armenian  Christians,  Copts,  and.  Druses. 
In  western  Palestine,  especially  on  the  coast,  the 
inhabitants  are  stated  by  Burckhardt  to  bear  generally 
more  resemblance  to  the  natives  of  Egypt  than  to 
those  of  northern  Syria ;  while,  towards  the  east  of 
Palestine,  especially  in  the  villages  about  Nablous, 
Jerusalem,  and  Hebron,  they  are  evidently  of  the  true 
Syrian  stock  in  features,  though  not  in  language. 
The  Syrian  physiognomy  assumes,  however,  a  cast  of 
features  characteristically  different  in  the  Aleppine, 
the  Turkman,  the  native  of  Mount  Libanus,  the 
Damascene,  the  inhabitant  of  the  sea-coast  from 
Beirout  to  Acre,  and  the  Bedouin.*  Dr.  Richardson, 
on  entering  the  country  from  Egypt,  was  struck  at 
the  change  of  physiognomy,  as  well  as  of  costume, 
observable  even  at  El  Arisch,  which  is  in  the  pashalic 
of  Egypt :  the  people  are  much  fairer,  as  well  as 
cleaner  and  better  dressed.  The  Turks,  in  Palestine, 
as  elsewhere  throughout  the  empire,  occupy  all  the 
civil  and  military  posts.  Greeks  form  a  very  nume*. 
rous  part  of  the  population.  A  considerable  number 
of  monks,  of  different  churches  and  orders,  still  reside 
in  the  Holy  Land :  there  is,  indeed,  scarcely  a  town 
of  any  consequence  which  does  not  contain  at  least 
one  convent.  The  country  districts  are,  to  a  great 
extent,  filled  with  nomadic  Arabs.  The  true  Arab 
is  always  an  inhabitant  of  the  desert ;  a  name  given 
to  any  solitude,  whether  barren  or  fertile,  and  some- 
times  applied  to  extensive  pasture-lands.  The  move- 
ables  of  a  whole  family  seldom  exceed  a  camel's  load. 
Nothing  can  be  simpler  in  construction  than  their 
tents.  Three  upright  sticks,  driven  into  the  ground, 

•  Burckhardfs  Travels  in  Syria,  p.  340. 


8  PALESTINE;  OR, 

with  one  laid  across  the  top,  form  the  frame-work, 
and  a  large  hrown  cloth,  made  of  goat's  or  camel's 
hair,  woven  by  their  women,  the  covering.  The 
manner  in  which  they  secure  their  animals  is  equally 
simple.  Two  sticks  are  driven  into  the  ground, 
between  which  a  rope  is  stretched  and  fastened  at 
each  end  ;  to  this  rope  the  asses  and  mules  are  all 
attached  by  the  feet ;  the  horses  also,  but  apart  from 
the  asses  ;  the  camels  are  seldom  secured  at  all.  The 
dress  of  this  people  in  the  Holy  Land  consists  of  a 
blue  shirt  or  tunic,  descending  below  the  knees,  the 
legs  and  feet  being  exposed  ;  or  the  latter  are  some- 
times covered  with  the  ancient  cothurnus  or  buskin. 
Over  this  is  worn  a  cloak  of  very  coarse  and  heavy 
camel's  hair  cloth,  (the  sackcloth  of  the  Scriptures,) 
consisting  of  one  square  piece,  with  holes  for  the  arms, 
but  having  a  seam  down  the  back.  This  appears  to 
have  been  the  dress  of  John  the  Baptist,  as  well  as  of 
the  ancient  prophets.*  The  cloak  (or  hyke)  is  almost 
universally  decorated  with  black  and  \vhit~e  stripes, 
passing  vertically  down  the  back.  The  head-dress 
is  a  small  turban,  resembling  a  coarse  handkerchief 
bound  across  the  temples,  one  corner  of  which  gene- 
rally hangs  down,  and  is  often  fringed  with  strings  in 
knots,  by  way  of  ornament.  The  usual  weapons  of 
the  Arab  are,  a  lance,  a  poniard,  an  iron  mace,  a 
battle-axe,  and  sometimes,  a  matchlock  gun.  The 
usual  veil  worn  by  all  the  females  in  Syria,  except  the 
Jewesses,  is  a  large  white  handkerchief  or  shawl, -I- 
which  covers  the  head  and  face,  and  falls  over  the 
shoulders.  It  is  astonishing,  remarks  Dr.  Richardson, 


•  Matt  iii.  4.    Zech.  xiii.  4. 

t  A  red  veil  is  worn  by  unmarried  women  and  by  brides ;  it  is 
the  mark  of  virginity. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  9 

what  a  light  and  cheerful  air  this  costume  imparts, 
compared  with  the  dull  funereal  drapery  of  the  Egyp- 
tian dames.  In  the  dress  of  the  pastoral  Arabs,  we 
probably  have  preserved  the  most  faithful  represen- 
tation of  the  ancient  Jewish  costume.  The  tunic  is 
evidently  the  inner  garment  or  %irav  of  the  New 
Testament,  while  the  hyke  or  cloak  corresponds  to 
the  outer  garment  or  ipariw.  The  usual  size  of  the 
hyke  is  six  yards  long,  and  from  five  to  six  broad  ; 
and  as  the  Arabs  sleep  in  their  raiment,  as  the 
Israelites  did  of  old,*  it  serves  as  a  bed  or  blanket  at 
night.  The  toga  of  the  Romans,  and  the  plaid  of  the 
Highlanders  of  Scotland,  are  garments  of  the  same 
kind.  The  habits  of  the  Bedouin  natives  have  pro- 
bably undergone  as  little  change  as  their  costume. 
"  Abraham,"  remarks  Dr.  Richardson,  "  was  a 
Bedouin  ;  and  I  never  saw  a  fine  venerable-looking 
sheikh  busied  among  his  flocks  and  herds,  that  it  did 
not  remind  me  of  the  holy  patriarch  himself." 

The  Turks  wear  what  we  consider  as  the  woman's 
dress,  except  that  both  sexes  wear  large  drawers  made 
of  fine  linen  or  stuff.  They,  in  return,  say  that  the 
Franks  go  naked,  —  referring  to  our  tight  clothes, 
fitted  to  the  shape.  This  is  an  ancient  prejudice 
in  the  East,  and  the  manner  of  speaking  throws  light 
on  many  passages  in  the  New  Testament,  in  which 
being  naked  means  nothing  more  than  stripped  to  the 
tunic.  The  Turkish  dress,  though  a  restraint  on 
activity,  is,  however,  so  much  more  seemly  and  be- 
coming to  the  figure  than  the  European  habit,  that 
English  travellers  have  confessed  that  they  felt  half 
naked  when  mixing  with  orientals,  before  they  had 
assumed  the  dress  of  the  country ;  or,  as  one  gentle- 

*  Dcut.  xxiv.  13. 
fi5 


10  PALESTINE;  OR, 

man  expressed  it,  like  a  monkey  among  men.  Under 
the  tunic  is  worn  a  shift  of  linen,  cotton,  or  gauze. 
The  turban  is  much  more  becoming  than  the  hat, 
which,  as  the  mark  of  a  Frank,  is  the  abhorrence  of 
the  Turk.  Blue  is  the  colour  appointed  for  the  turban 
of  a  Christian ;  white  is  the  privilege  of  a  Moslem ; 
green  is  the  distinguishing  badge  of  the  descendants 
of  the  prophet.  For  a  Christian  to  assume  the  white 
turban  would,  in  many  places,  endanger  his  life  ;  and 
were  any  one  to  presume  to  wear  a  green  turban 
without  being  able  to  prove  his  title  to  it,  he  would 
be  put  to  death.  Lady  Hester  Stanhope,  however, 
whose  usual  residence  is  at  Mar  Elias,  in  Mount 
Lebanon,  is  said  to  have  assumed  with  impunity  the 
sacred  and  forbidden  colour. 

Mr.  Jolliffe  gives  the  following  minute  description 
of  his  Turkish  equipment.  "  The  most  important 
part  of  the  dress  resembles  very  large  trowsers,  tied 
round  the  waist  with  a  running  girdle ;  the  texture 
is  of  cloth,  linen,  or  silk,  agreeably  to  the  fancy  of 

the  wearer Next  to  these  is  the  kombos,  a  sort  of 

tunic  with  long  sleeves,  and  descending  almost  to  the 
ancles ;  it  is  fastened  by  a  rich  belt  or  sash,  called 
zennar,  in  which  pistols  and  other  weapons,  gaily 
ornamented,  are  carried.  The  daraben  is  a  short 
riding  vest,  worn  occasionally  over  the  tunic,  instead 
of  the  cloak  called  beniss,  which  is  commonly  of  some 
light  fabric,  and  of  a  lively  colour.  But  by  far  the 
most  graceful  ornament  is  the  bornos  (or  burnoote\m 
a  long,  white,  -flowing  robe,  composed  of  silk  and 
camel's  hair,  and  bordered  with  silk  fringe.  Nothing 

*  The  burnoose  is  worn  in  Barbary  and  Egypt,  but  not  in  Pales- 
tine, where  they  wear  the  black  abba.  The  Turkish  costume  varies 
in  different  countries,  and  undergoes  seemingly  a  change  of  name. 
The  kombos  is  the  same  as  the  caftan. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  1 1 

can  exceed  the  lightness  and  elegance  of  its  texture ; 
its  shape  is  not  unlike  the  ancient  pallium,  one  ex- 
tremity being  usually  thrown  over  the  left  shoulder. 
The  turban  is  extremely  simple,  consisting  of  a  red 
cap,  decorated  in  the  crown  with  a  tassel  of  blue  silk, 
and  having  a  shawl  wound  round  the  circumference. 
The  shawl  may  be  of  any  colour  except  green  ;  plain 
white  is  generally  preferred  ;  but  pink  and  light  blue 
are  occasionally  worn."  The  expense  of  a  handsome 
suit,  and  the  usual  accoutrements,  exclusive  of  pistols, 
&c.,  is  about  fifty  pounds  sterling. 

NATURAL  HISTORY,  CLIMATE,  &c. 

THE  geographical  aspect  of  Palestine  is  not  less 
diversified  than  the  appearance  of  its  motley  popu- 
lation. Its  prevailing  character  but  imperfectly  corre- 
sponds to  its  ancient  fertility ;  but  this  is  chiefly 
owing  to  the  miserable  state  of  vassalage  in  which  its 
inhabitants  are  held,  together  with  the  devastating 
effects  of  perpetual  wars,  and  probably  some  physical 
changes.  Those  writers,  ancient  and  modern,  who 
have  represented  it  as  barren,  must  be  understood, 
however,  as  referring  only  to  the  mountainous  dis- 
tricts round  Jerusalem.  Abulfeda  describes  Palestine 
as  the  most  fertile  part  of  Syria,  and  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Jerusalem  as  one  of  the  most  fruitful  parts 
of  Palestine.  An  Oriental's  ideas  of  fertility  differ 
sufficiently  from  ours,  to  explain  in.  part  this  asser- 
tion ;  for  to  him,  plantations  of  figs,  vines,  and  olives, 
with  which  the  limestone  rocks  of  Judea  were  once 
covered,  would  suggest  the  same  associations  of  plenty 
and  opulence  that  are  called  up  in  the  mind  of  an 
Englishman  by  rich  tracts  of  corn-land.  The  land  of 
Canaan  is  characterised  as  flowing  with  milk  and 


12  PALESTINE;  OR, 

honey,  and  it  still  answers  to  this  description  ;  for 
it  contains  extensive  pasture-lands  of  the  richest 
quah'ty,  and  the  rocky  country  is  covered  with  aro- 
matic plants,  yielding  to  the  wild  bees,  who  hive  in 
the  hollow  of  the  rocks,  such  abundance  of  honey,  as 
to  supply  the  poorer  classes  with  an  article  of  food. 
Wild  honey  and  locusts  were  the  usual  diet  of  the 
forerunner  of  our  Lord,  during  his  seclusion  in  the 
desert  country  of  Judea;  from  which  we  may  con- 
clude that  it  was  the  ordinary  fare  of  the  common 
people.  The  latter  are  expressly  mentioned  by  Moses 
as  lawful  and  wholesome  food  ;*  and  Pliny  states  that 
they  made  a  considerable  part  of  the  food  of  the  Par- 
thians  and  Ethiopians.  They  are  still  eaten  in  many 
parts  of  the  East ;  when  sprinkled  with  salt  and 
fried,  they  are  said  to  taste  much  like  the  river  cray- 
fish. Honey  from  the  rocks  is  repeatedly  referred  to 
in  the  Scriptures,  as  a  delicious  food,  and  an  emblem 
of  plenty. -f-  Dates  are  another  important  article  of 
consumption,  and  the  neighbourhood  of  Judea  was 
famous  for  its  numerous  palm-trees,  J  which  are 
found  springing  up  from  chance-sown  kernels  in  the 
midst  of  the  most  arid  districts.  When  to  these  wild 
productions  we  add  the  oil  extracted  from  the  olive, 
so  essential  an  article  to  an  Oriental,  we  shall  be  at  no 
loss  to  account  for  the  ancient  fertility  of  the  most 
barren  districts  of  Judea,  or  for  the  adequacy  of  the 
soil  to  the  support  of  so  numerous  a  population,  not- 
withstanding  the  comparatively  small  proportion  of 
arable  land.  There  is  no  reason  to  doubt,  however, 


*  Leviticus  xi.  22. 

t  1  Sam.  xiv.  25.    Psalm  Ixxxi.  1C. 

t  They  are  mentioned  in  particular  by  Strabo,  (Bb.  xvi.)  by 
Pliny,  (Hist.  Nat.  lib.  xiii.  cap.  6.)  and  by  Josephus,  (De  Bell.  Jud. 
lib.  i.  cap.  6.  5  6.  lib.  iv.  cap.  8.  §  3.) 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  13 

that  corn  and  rice  would  be  imported  by  the  Tyriaii 
merchants,  which  the  Israelites  would  have  no  diffi- 
culty in  exchanging  for  the  produce  of  the  olive- 
ground  and  the  vineyard,  or  for  their  flocks  and 
herds.*  Delicious  wine  is  still  produced  in  some  dis- 
tricts, and  the  valleys  bear  plentiful  crops  of  tobacco, 
wheat,  barley,  and  millet.  Tacitus  compares  both 
the  climate  and  the  soil,  indeed,  to  those  of  Italy, 
and  he  particularly  specifies  the  palm-tree  and  balsam- 
tree  as  productions  which  gave  the  country  an  ad- 
vantage over  his  own.-f-  Among  other  indigenous 
productions  may  be  enumerated,  the  cedar  and  other 
varieties  of  the  pine,  the  cypress,  the  oak,  the  syca- 
more, the  mulberry -tree,  the  fig-tree,  the  willow,  the 
turpentine-tree,  the  acacia,  the  aspen,  the  arbutus, 
the  myrtle,  the  almond-tree,  the  tamarisk,  the  olean- 
der, the  peach-tree,  the  chaste-tree,  the  carob  or 
locust-tree,  the  oskar,  the  doom,  the  mustard-plant, 
the  aloe,  the  citron,  the  apple,  the  pomegranate,  and 
many  flowering  shrubs.  J  The  country  about  Jericho 
was  celebrated  for  its  balsam,  as  well  as  for  its  palm- 
trees  ;  and  two  plantations  of  it  existed  during  the 
last  war  between  the  Jews  and  the  Romans,  for 
which  both  parties  fought  desperately.  But  Gilead 

*  In  the  time  of  Solomon,  indeed,  the  king  of  Tyre  obtained 
wheat  and  oil  in  exchange  for  the  timber  he  furnished  for  the 
building  of  the  temple.  1  Kings,  v.  11.  And  in  the  apostolic  age, 
Tyre  and  Sidon  seem  to  have  depended  principally  on  Galilee  for 
the  means  of  subsistence.  Acts,  xii.  20.  But  all  the  rice  is  im- 
ported from  Egypt. 

t  ««  Ran  imbres,  uber  solum:  exuberant  fruges  nostrum  ad 
morem,  prseterque  eas,  balsamum  et  palmas." —  TACITUS,  Hist. 
lib.  v.  cap.  6.  The  palm-tree  was  the  symbol  of  Palestine.  Many 
coins  of  Vespasian  and  other  emperors  are  extant,  in  which  Judea 
is  personified  as  a  disconsolate  female,  sitting  under  a  palm-tree. 

t  See  Appendix.  • 


14  PALESTINE;  OR, 

appears  to  have  been  the  country  in  which  it  chiefly 
abounded :  hence  the  name,  balm  of  Gilead.  Since 
the  country  has  fallen  under  the  Turkish  dominion, 
it  has  ceased  to  be  cultivated  in  Palestine,  but  is  still 
found  in  Arabia.  Other  indigenous  productions  have 
either  disappeared,  or  are  now  confined  to  circum- 
scribed districts.  Iron  is  found  in  the  mountain  range 
of  labanus,  and  silk  is  produced  in  abundance  in  the 
plains  of  Samaria. 

Generally  speaking,  the  climate  is  mild  and  salu- 
brious. During  the  months  of  May,  June,  July,  and 
August,  the  sky  is  for  the  most  part  cloudless ;  but 
during  the  night,  the  earth  is  moistened  with  a 
copious  dew.  As  in  Persia,  sultry  days  are  not  un- 
frequently  succeeded  by  intensely  cold  nights.  To 
these  sudden  vicissitudes  references  are  made  in  the 
Old  Testament.*  During  the  other  parts  of  the  year, 
there  is  no  deficiency  of  rain ;  and  to  this  circum- 
stance the  fertility  of  Palestine  is  chiefly  attributable, 
in  the  absence  of  springs.  The  streams  with  which 
it  is  watered,  with  the  exception  of  the  river  Jordan, 
are  all  brooks  or  torrents  fed  by  the  copious  periodical 
rains.  In  the  dry  season,  the  only  resource  of  the 
natives  is,  the  wells  or  the  water  collected  in  the 
rainy  season.  Hence  the  high  importance  attaching 
to  the  possession  of  a  well  in  this  country,  and  the 
value  set  upon  a  cup  of  cold  water.  Throughout 
Syria,  the  traveller  perceives,  at  stated  distances  on 
the  road,  small  reservoirs  or  large  vases  filled  with 
water,  having  beside  them  a  pot  for  the  use  of 
passengers  when  thirsty.  These  monuments  are 
owing  to  pious  foundations  in  favour  of  travellers  ; 

*  See  Gen.  xxxi.  40.    Psann  cxxi.  6. 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  15 

but  the  greater  part  are  falling  into  ruin.*  It  is 
remarkable  that  in  Arabia,  most  of  the  inhabited 
places  are  situated  in  valleys  or  hollows  :  in  Palestine, 
on  the  contrary,  the  towns  and  villages  are  almost 
uniformly  built  upon  hills  or  heights.  The  scarcity 
of  the  rains  in  Arabia,  and  their  abundance  in  Pales- 
tine,  has  been  with  some  plausibility  assigned  as  the 
reason  for  this  difference.  The  floods  in  the  rainy 
season  sometimes  pour  down  from  the  hills  with  such 
violence  as  to  sweep  every  thing  before  them.  The 
Jordan,  from  this  cause,  formerly  rose  periodically 
above  its  banks.  Whether  it  has  worn  for  itself  a 
deeper  channel,  or  discharges  its  superfluous  waters 
by  some  other  means,  is  not  ascertained,  but  the  rise 
is  now  insufficient  to  produce  inundation. 

We  have  but  imperfect  notices  of  the  zoology  and 
ornithology  of  Palestine.  The  Scriptures  contain 
familiar  references  to  the  lion,  the  wolf,  the  fox,  the 
leopard,  the  hart,  the  jackal,  and  the  wild  boar,  which 
lead  one  to  suppose  that  they  were  native  animals. 
The  wilder  animals,  however,  have  mostly  disap- 
peared. Hasselquist,  a  pupil  of  Linnaeus,  who  visited 
the  Holy  Land  in  1750,  mentions,  as  the  only  animals 
he  saw,  the  porcupine,  the  jackal,  the  fox,  the  rock- 
goat,  and  the  fallow-deer.  Captain  Mangles  describes 
an  animal  of  the  goat  species  as  large  as  the  ass,  with 
long,  knotty,  upright  horns ;  some  bearded,  and  their 
colour  resembled  that  of  the  gazelle.  The  Arabs 
called  them  meddn  or  bcddn.  The  horse  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  generally  adopted,  till  after  the 
return  of  the  Jews  from  Babylon.  Solomon  was  the 
first  monarch  who  collected  a  numerous  stud  of  the 
finest  horses  that  Egypt  or  Arabia  could  furnish.  In 
the  earlier  times,  the  wild  ass  was  deemed  worthy  of 
*  Travels  of  All  Bey,  voL  11.  p.  210. 


16  PALESTINE;  OR, 

being  employed  for  purposes  of  royal  state  as  well  as 
convenience.*  The  breed  of  cattle  reared  in  Bashan 
and  Gilead  were  remarkable  for  their  size,  strength, 
and  fatness. 

In  ornithology,  the  eagle,  the  vulture,  the  cormo- 
rant, the  bittern,  the  stork,  the  owl,  the  pigeon,  the 
swallow,  and  the  dove,  were  familiar  to  the  Jews. 
Hasselquist  enumerates  the  following  from  his  own 
observation :  the  vulture,  two  species,  one  seen  near 
Jerusalem,  the  other  near  Cana  in  Galilee ;  the 
falcon  (falco  gentilis  and  falco  tinnunculus),  near 
Nazareth  ;  the  jackdaw,  in  numbers  in  the  oak-woods 
near  Galilee  ;  the  green  wood -spite  (picus  viridii), 
at  the  same  place ;  the  bee-catcher  (merops  apiaster), 
in  the  groves  and  plains  between  Acra  and  Nazareth  ; 
the  nightingale,  among  the  willows  at  Jordan  and 
olive  trees  of  Judea;  the  field-lark,  '  every  where  ;' 
the  goldfinch,  in  the  gardens  near  Nazareth ;  the  red 
partridge  (tetrao  rufus\  and  two  other  species,  the 
quail  (tetrao  cotumix),  and  the  quail  of  the  Israelites 
(tetrao  Israelitarum) ;  the  turtle-dove  and  the  ring- 
dove. Game  is  abundant ;  partridges,  in  particular, 
being  found  in  large  coveys,  so  fat  and  heavy,  that 
they  may  easily  be  knocked  down  with  a  stick. -f- 
Wild  geese,  ducks,  widgeon,  snipe,  and  water-fowl 
of  every  description,  abound  in  some  situations. 

The  Holy  Land  is  at  present  infested  with  a  fright- 
ful number  of  lizards,  different  kinds  of  serpents, 
vipers,  scorpions,  and  various  insects.*  Flies  of 

•  Judges,  v.  10;  x.  3,  4;  xli.  13,  14.    2  Kings,  iv.  24. 
f  Travels  of  All  Bey,  vol.  iL  p.  210. 

*  Dr.  Clarke,  however,  states  that  the  maritime  districts  of 
Syria  and  Palestine  are  free  from  noxious  reptiles  and  venomous 
insects,  which  ne  adduces  in  proof  of  the  salubrity  of  the  climate.— 
7''  art/*,  part,  ii  sect.  x.  chap.  3. 


THE  HOLY   LAND-  17 

every  species  are  also  extremely  annoying.  Ants  are 
so  numerous  in  some  parts,  that  one  traveller  describes 
the  road  to  Jaffa,  from  El  Arisch,  as,  for  three  days' 
journey,  a  continued  ant-hill.* 

The  general  outlines  of  the  surface  of  the  country 
may  be  thus  laid  down.  The  Jordan,  or  river  of 
Dan,  which  rises  under  the  lofty  peaks  of  the  Anti- 
libanus,  and  flows  in  a  direction  almost  constantly 
southward,  with  the  lake  of  Tiberias,  through  which 
it  passes,  and  that  of  Asphaltites  (the  Dead  Sea), 
which  it  forms  by  its  discharge,  divides  Palestine 
completely  from  north  to  south.  In  the  western 
division,  between  the  Mediterranean  and  the  lake  of 
Tiberias,  lie  the  two  Galilees.  The  plain  of  Es- 
draelon,  which  occupies  the  greater  part  of  this  tract, 
being  two  days' journey,  or  nearly  fifty  miles  in  length 
and  twenty  in  breadth,  is  described  by  Dr.  Clarke  as 
one  vast  meadow,  covered  with  the  richest  pasture. 
This  plain  is  enclosed  on  all  sides  by  the  mountains, 
and  not  a  house  or  a  tree  is  to  be  discovered  in  it. 
It  is  completely  commanded  by  Acre,  so  that  the 
possessor  of  that  port  is  the  lord  of  one  of  the  richest 
territories  in  the  Holy  Land.  To  the  south  of  Galilee 
lies  the  district  of  ancient  Samaria,  now  chiefly  in- 
cluded in  the  district  of  Nablous  :  it  is  mountainous, 
but  well  cultivated,  and  forms  at  present  the  most 
flourishing  part  of  the  Holy  Land.  Judea  Proper 
comprises  the  territory  extending  from  the  Dead  Sea 
to  the  Mediterranean,  and  is  composed  of  a  range  of 
limestone  hills,  rising  by  stages  from  the  level  of  the 
coast,  and  becoming  more  rugged  and  rocky  as  you 
approach  Jerusalem  from  Jaffa.  Between  Jaffa  and 
Gaza,  westward  of  the  mountains  of  Judea,  lies  the 

*  Travels  of  All  Bey,  vol.  ii.  p.  210. 


18  PALESTINE;  OR, 

tract  distinguished  as  the  plain  of  the  Mediterranean 
Sea,  the  ancient  territory  of  the  Philistines,  including 
the  five  cities  of  Gaza,  Askelon,  Ashdod,  Gath,  and 
Ekron.*  This  district  still  hears  the  name  of  Phalas- 
tin,-|-  and  forms  a  separate  pashalic ;  it  may  he  distin- 
guished as  Palestine  Proper. 

Having  taken  this  general  view  of  the  country,  we 
shall  now  proceed  to  describe  it  more  in  detail,  by 
tracing  some  of  the  principal  routes.  Those  most 
frequently  taken  are,  in  coming  from  Egypt,  from  El 
Arisch,  by  way  of  Jaffa,  to  Jerusalem ;  in  landing 
from  Europe,  from  Acre,  by  Nazareth,  to  Jerusalem  ; 
in  coming  from  Syria,  from  Damascus  to  Jerusalem  ; 
and  the  route  from  Damascus  to  Mecca. 

ROUTE  FROM  ACRE  TO  JAFFA. 

DR.  E.  D.  CLARKE,  who  visited  Palestine  in  the 
summer  of  1801,  landed  at  Acre,  then  under  the  do- 
minion of  the  notorious  Djezzar  Pasha  —  an  appella- 
tion explained  by  himself  as  signifying  the  butcher. 
This  execrable  tyrant,  whose  name  carried  terror  with 
it  over  all  the  Holy  Land,  at  one  time,  shut  up  in  his 
fortress  at  Acre,  defied  the  whole  power  of  Turkey, 
deriding  the  menaces  of  the  Capudan  Pasha,  though 
he  affected  to  venerate  the  authority  of  the  sultan. 
His  real  name  was  Achmed.  He  was  a  native  of 
Bosnia,  and  spoke  the  Sclavonian  language  better 
than  any  other.  At  an  early  period  of  his  life,  he 
sold  himself  to  a  slave-merchant  in  Constantinople, 
and  being  purchased  by  Ali  Bey  in  Egypt,  rose  from 

•   Joshua  xiih  3.    1  Sam.  vi.  17.     Josephus,  Antiq.  lib.  vi. 
cap.  1. 
t  Volney,  vol.  ii.  p.  327. 


THE   HOLY    LAND.  19 

the  humble  situation  of  a  Mameluke  slave  to  be 
governor  of  Cairo.  In  this  situation,  according  to 
his  own  account  given  to  Dr.  Clarke,  he  distinguished 
himself  by  the  most  rigorous  execution  of  justice ; 
realizing  the  stories  related  of  Oriental  caliphs,  by 
mingling  in  disguise  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  city, 
and  thus  making  himself  master  of  all  that  was  said 
concerning  himself,  or  transacted  by  his  officers.  So 
far  back  as  1784,  when  M.  Volney  visited  the  Holy 
Land,  he  was  pasha  of  Seide  (Sidon)  and  Acre.*  At 
that  time,  his  cavalry  amounted  to  900  Bosnian  and 
Arnaut  horsemen ;  by  sea,  he  had  a  frigate,  two 
galiots,  and  a  xebeck ;  and  his  revenue  amounted  to 
400,000/.  At  the  time  of  Dr.  Clarke's  arrival,  he 
was  upwards  of  sixty  years  of  age,  and  vain  of  the 
vigour  which  he  still  retained.  Of  forty -three  pashas 
of  three  tails  then  living  in  the  Turkish  empire,  he 
was,  by  his  own  account,  the  senior.  "  We  found 
him,"  says  Dr.  Clarke,  "  seated  on  a  mat,  in  a  little 
chamber  destitute  of  the  meanest  article  of  furniture, 
excepting  a  coarse,  porous,  earthenware  vessel  for 
cooling  the  water  he  occasionally  drank.  He  was 
surrounded  by  persons  maimed  arid  disfigured,"  some 
without  a  nose,  others  without  an  arm,  with  one  ear 
only,  or  one  eye;  marked  men,  as  he  termed  them  — 
persons  bearing  signs  of  their  having  been  instructed  to 
serve  their  master  with  fidelity.  "  He  scarcely  looked 
up  to  notice  our  entrance,  but  continued  his  employ- 
ment of  drawing  upon  the  floor,  for  one  of  his  en- 
gineers, a  plan  of  some  works  he  was  then  construct- 

*  Dr.  Clarke  says:  "  He  has  been  improperly  considered  as 
pasha  of  Acre :  his  real  pashalic  was  that  of  Seide,  but,  at  the  time 
of  our  arrival,  he  was  also  lord  of  Damascus,  Berytus,  Tyre,  and 
Sidon."  Burckhardt.  however,  represents  the  pasbalic  of  Seide  to 
be  the  same  as  that  of  Akka 


20  PALESTINE  ;    OR, 

ing.  His  form  was  athletic,  and  his  long  white  beard 
entirely  covered  his  breast.  His  habit  was  that  of  a 
common  Arab,  plain,  but  clean,  consisting  of  a  white 
camlet  over  a  cotton  cassock.  His  turban  was  also 
white.  Neither  cushion  nor  carpet  decorated  the 
naked  boards  of  his  divan.  In  his  girdle  he  wore  a 
poniard  set  with  diamonds  ;  but  this  he  apologised  for 
exhibiting,  saying  it  was  his  badge  of  office  as  gover- 
nor of  Acre,  and  therefore  could  not  be  laid  aside. 
Having  ended  his  orders  to  the  engineer,  we  were 
directed  to  sit  upon  the  end  of  the  divan  ;  and  Signor 
Bertocino,  his  dragoman,  kneeling  by  his  side,  he  pre- 
pared to  hear  the  cause  of  our  visit."  * 

The  port  of  Acre  is  bad,  but  Dr.  Clarke  represents 
it  as  better  than  any  other  along  the  coast.  That  of 
Seide  is  very  insecure,  and  the  harbour  of  Jaffa  worse 
than  any  of  the  rest.  All  the  rice,  which  is  the  staple 
food  of  the  people,  enters  the  country  by  Acre :  the 
lord  of  that  city,  therefore,  has  it  in  his  power  to 
cause  a  famine  to  be  felt  over  all  Syria.  This  con- 
sideration led  the  French  to  direct  all  their  efforts 
towards  the  possession  of  Acre ;  the  key  of  a  public 
granary  being  the  mightiest  engine  of  military  opera- 
tion. "  Hence,"  observes  Dr.  Clarke,  "  we  find  Acre 
to  have  been  the  last  place  in  the  Holy  Land  from 
which  the  Christians  were  expelled ;  and  this  it  was 
that  gave  to  an  old  man,  pent  up  in  a  small  tower 
by  the  sea-side,  the  extraordinary  empire  he  pos. 
sessed." 

Djezzar  was  the  Herod  of  his  day.  At  one  period, 
having  reason  to  suspect  the  fidelity  of  his  wives,  he 
put  seven  of  them  to  death  with  his  own  hands.  No 
person  in  Acre  knew  the  number  of  his  women,  but 

•  Travels  in  various  Countries,  part  ii.  §  i.  chap.  3. 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  21 

from  the  circumstance  of  a  certain  number  of  covers 
being  daily  placed  in  a  kind  of  wheel,  or  turning 
cylinder,  so  contrived  as  to  convey  dishes  to  the  in- 
terior, without  any  possibility  of  observing  the  person 
who  received  them.  If  any  of  them  died,  the  event 
was  kept  as  secret  as  when  he  massacred  them  with 
his  own  hands.  In  his  public  works  he  aimed  at 
magnificence.  He  built  the  mosque,  the  bazar,  and 
an  elegant  public  fountain  at  Acre,  using  the  exten- 
sive remains  of  Cesarea  as  a  quarry.  In  all  these 
works  he  was  himself  both  the  engineer  and  the  archi- 
tect :  he  formed  the  plans,  drew  the  designs,  and  super- 
intended the  execution.  He  was  his  own  minister, 
chancellor,  treasurer,  and  secretary ;  often  his  own 
cook  and  gardener ;  and  not  unfrequently  both  judge 
and  executioner  in  the  same  instant.  Such  is  the 
account  given  of  this  extraordinary  man  by  Baron  de 
Tott,  Volney,  and  Dr.  Clarke.  Yet,  with  the  short- 
sighted and  narrow-minded  policy  of  an  Oriental 
despot,  he  sacrificed  to  his  avarice  the  permanent 
prosperity  of  the  districts  which  he  governed.  During 
the  latter  years  of  his  administration,  more  especially, 
towns  that  had  once  been  flourishing,  were  reduced  by 
his  oppression  to  a  few  cottages,  and  luxuriant  plains 
were  abandoned  to  the  wandering  Arabs.  His  suc- 
cessor is  described  by  Dr.  Richardson  as  a  man  of 
milder,  if  not  more  enlightened  character.  He  met 
him  at  Tiberias  in  1817,  to  which  place  his  highness 
had  come  for  the  benefit  of  the  hot  spring :  he  was 
a  venerable-looking  old  man,  with  a  long  flowing 
white  beard,  and  his  manner  was  kind  and  un- 
affected. "  Unlike  his  butchering  predecessor,"  says 
Dr.  R.,  "  this  respectable  viceroy  bears  the  charac- 
ter of  a  humane  and  good  man,  and  nothing  could 


22  PALESTINE;  OR, 

exceed  the  respect  which  was  shewn  him  by  his  at- 
tendants.* 

Acre,  more  properly  Akka,-j-  the  ancient  Ptolemais 
(Acts,  xxi.  7),  is  situated  at  the  north  angle  of  the 
bay  to  which  it  gives  its  name,  and  which  extends  in 
a  semicircle  of  three  leagues  as  far  as  the  point  of 
CarmeL  During  the  Crusades,  it  sustained  several 
sieges.  After  the  expulsion  of  the  knights  of  St. 
John  of  Jerusalem,  it  fell  rapidly  into  decay,  and  was 
almost  deserted,:}:  till  Djezzar  Pasha,  by  repairing  the 
town  and  harbour,  made  it  one  of  the  first  towns  on 
the  coast.  In  modern  times  it  has  been  rendered 
celebrated  for  the  successful  stand  it  made,  with  the 
aid  of  the  British  under  Sir  Sidney  Smith,  against  the 
French  troops  commanded  by  General  Bonaparte,  who 
was  obliged  to  raise  the  siege,  after  failing  in  his 
twelfth  assault.  It  is  twenty-seven  miles  south  of 
Tyre,  twenty-three  N.N.W.  of  Jerusalem.  Its  pre- 
sent population  is  estimated  at  20,000.  Few  traces 
remain  of  its  former  splendour.  The  external  view  of 
Acre,  says  Dr.  Clarke,  like  that  of  any  other  town  on 
the  Levant,  is  the  only  prospect  of  it  worth  behold- 
ing. The  interior  presents,  as  in  the  generality  of 
Turkish  cities,  narrow,  dirty  lanes,  with  wretched 
shops,  and  as  wretched  inhabitants.  Sandys  noticed 
"  the  ruins  of  a  palace,  which  yet  doth  acknowledge 
King  Richard  for  the  founder,  confirmed  likewise  by 
the  passant  lion."  Dr.  Clarke  describes  the  remains 
of  a  considerable  edifice  answering  to  this  account, 

*  Travels  along  the  Mediterranean,  vol.  ii.  p.  431. 

t  The  Accho  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  Judges,  i.  31.  The 
AKHof  Strabo. 

t  Tn  1610,  Sandys  states  that  there  were  not  above  200  or  300 
inhabitants. 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  23 

which  were  conspicuous  among  the  buildings  on  the 
left  of  the  mosque  towards  the  north  side  of  the  city. 
Some  pointed  arches,  and  part  of  the  cornice,  were 
all  that  remained :  the  latter  was  ornamented  with 
enormous  stone  busts,  exhibiting  a  series  of  hideous, 
distorted  countenances — a  representation,  perhaps,  of 
the  heads  of  Saracens.  The  Gothic  architecture,  he 
supposes,  led  to  the  idea  of  its  having  been  "  King 
Richard's  palace ;"  but,  at  the  period  referred  to  by 
the  tradition,  the  English  were  hardly  capable  of 
erecting  buildings  of  that  character,  and  its  origin 
may  be  assigned  with  more  probability  to  the  Genoese 
who  assisted  Baldwin  at  the  capture  of  Acre,  A.D. 
1 104  ;  the  lion  being  a  symbol  of  Genoa.  The  ruins 
in  question  are  probably  those  of  the  cathedral  church 
of  St.  Andrew,  described  both  by  Doubdan,  a  French 
traveller,  who  visited  Acre  in  1652,  and  by  Maundrell, 
as  the  most  conspicuous  object,  standing  on  an  emi- 
nence not  far  from  the  sea-shore.  Maundrell  particu- 
larises other  ruins  referrible  to  the  same  period ;  the 
church  of  St.  John,  the  tutelar  saint  of  the  city  in  the 
time  of  the  knights  templars,  who  changed  its  name 
from  Ptolemais  to  St.  John  d'Acre;  the  convent  of 
the  knights  hospitallers ;  the  palace  of  the  grand 
master  of  that  order,  of  which  a  large  staircase  was 
still  standing ;  *  and  "  many  other  ruins  of  churches, 
palaces,  monasteries,  forts,  &c.,  extending  for  more 
than  half  a  mile  in  length  ;  in  all  which  you  may 

*  This,  Pococke  states  to  have  been  "  repaired  and  inhabited 
by  the  great  Feckerdine,  prince  of  the  Druses." — "  At  the  end  of 
this  building,"  he  adds,  "  are  the  remains  of  what  seem  to  have 
been  a  very  grand  saloon,  and  a  smaller  room,  of  the  same  archi- 
tecture, at  the  end  of  that.  To  the  south  there  was  a  noble, 
well-built  chapel,  the  walls  of  which  ate  (A.D.  1738)  almost 
entire.'- 


24  PALESTINE;  on, 

discern  marks  of  so  much  strength,  as  if  every 
building  in  the  city  had  been  contrived  for  war  and 
defence."  "  The  carcass,"  says  Sandys,  "  shews  that 
the  body  hath  been  strong,  double  immured,  fortified 
with  bulwarks  and  towers,  to  each  wall  a  ditch  lined 
with  stone,  and  under  those,  divers  secret  posterns. 
You  would  think  by  the  ruins,  that  the  city  rather  con- 
sisted wholly  of  divers  conjoining  castles,  than  any  way 
mixed  with  private  dwellings,  which  witness  a  notable 
defence  and  an  unequal  assault,  or  that  the  rage  of  the 
conquerors  extended  beyond  conquest ;  the  huge  walls 
and  arches  turned  topsy-turvy,  and  lying  like  rocks 
upon  the  foundation."  The  strength  of  the  city  arose 
in  part  from  its  advantageous  situation.  On  the  south 
and  west  sides  it  was  washed  by  the  sea ;  it  had  a 
small  bay  to  the  east,  which  Pococke  describes  as  now 
almost  filled  up ;  and  he  is  of  opinion,  that  the  river 
Belus  was  brought  through  the  fosse  which  ran  along 
the  ramparts  on  the  north,  thus  making  the  city  an 
island.*  At  the  period  of  Dr.  Clarke's  visit,  the 
ruins,  with  the  exception  of  the  cathedral,  the  arsenal, 
the  college  of  the  knights,  and  the  palace  of  the  grand 
master,  were  so  intermingled  with  modern  buildings, 
and  in  such  a  state  of  utter  subversion,  that  it  was 
difficult,  he  says,  to  afford  any  satisfactory  description 
of  them ;  and  Mr.  Buckingham,  who  was  at  Acre  in 
1816,  affirms  that  "  the  Christian  ruins  are  altogether 

*  "  I  have  great  reason  to  think  that  the  river  Belus  was 
brought  along  through  the  fossae,  because  it  is  mentioned  in  the 
account  of  the  siege,  that  a  certain  body  of  men  attacked  the  city, 
from  the  bridge  over  the  Belus  to  the  bishop's  palace.  I  examined 
the  ground,  and  discovered  what  I  supposed  to  be  the  lemains  of 
the  channel,  and  actually  saw  the  ruins  of  a  small  bridge  over  it, 
near  the  town,  and  of  a  larger  farther  on." — Travdt  in  the  Bast, 
book  I  chap.  13. 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  25 

gone ;"  and  "  even  the  three  gothic  arches  called  by 
the  English  sailors  king  Richard's  palace,  have  heen 
razed  to  the  ground."  Shafts  of  red  and  grey  granite, 
and  marble  pillars,  were  to  be  seen  throughout  the 
town ;  some  used  as  thresholds  to  doorways,  others  as 
supporters  to  piazzas,  besides  several  slabs  of  fine 
marble.  "  Many  superb  remains  were  observed  by 
us,"  says  Dr.  Clarke,  "  in  the  pasha's  palace,  in  the 
khan,  the  mosque,  the  public  bath,  the  fountains,  and 
other  works  of  the  town,  consisting  of  fragments  of 
antique  marble,  the  shafts  and  capitals  of  granite  and 
marble  pillars,  masses  of  the  verd  antique  breccia,  of 
ancient  serpentine,  and  of  the  syenite  and  trap  of 
Egypt.  In  the  garden  of  Djezzar's  palace,  leading 
to  his  summer  apartment,  we  saw  some  pillars  of 
yellow  variegated  marble,  of  extraordinary  beauty  ; 
but  these,  he  informed  us,  he  had  procured  from  the 
ruins  of  Cesarea,  upon  the  coast  between  Acre  and 
Jaffa,  together  with  almost  all  the  marble  used  in  the 
decoration  of  his  very  sumptuous  mosque.  A  beautiful 
fountain  of  white  marble,  close  to  the  entrance  of  his 
palace,  has  also  been  constructed  with  materials  from 
those  ruins." — "  The  bath  is  the  finest  and  best  built 
of  any  that  we  saw  in  the  Turkish  empire.  Every 
kind  of  antique  marble,  together  with  large  pillars  of 
Egyptian  granite,  might  be  observed  among  the  ma- 
terials  employed  in  building  it." 

The  country  about  Acre  abounds  in  cattle,  corn, 
olives,  and  linseed.  A  great  quantity  of  cotton  was, 
in  the  time  of  Djezzar  Pasha,  exported  from  the  place. 
In  the  light  sandy  soil,  containing  a  mixture  of  black 
vegetable  earth,  which  lies  near  the  town,  Dr.  Clarke 
observed  plantations  of  water-melons,  pumpkins,  and 
a  little  corn.  Half  a  mile  east  of  the  city,  is  a  small 
hill,  improved  by  art,  about  half  a  mile  in  length,  and 

PART  I.  C 


26  PALESTINE;  OR, 

a  quarter  of  a  mile  broad,  and  very  steep  on  every 
side,  except  to  the  south-west,  which  was  probably  the 
camp  of  ancient  besiegers.  To  the  north  of  this  is  an 
irregular  rising  ground,  where  there  are  great  ruins 
of  vaults,  some  of  which  appear  to  have  been  reser"- 
voirs.  To  the  north-west  of  this  place,  and  about  a 
mile  to  the  north  of  the  city,  is  another  rising  ground, 
surmounted  with  the  ruins  of  a  very  strong  square 
tower,  a  mosque,  and  other  great  buildings,  called 
Abouotidy,  from  a  sheik  who  was  buried  there.* 
Half  way  between  this  place  and  Acre  is  a  fine  well. 
About  five  miles  to  the  north-east  of  the  town,  a 
narrow  valley  watered  by  a  rivulet,  runs  for  some 
way  between  high  hills  :  at  the  end  of  it  rises  a  hill, 
supposed  by  Pococke  to  be  Mount  Feret,  bearing  a 
fortress  anciently  belonging,  probably,  to  the  knights 
of  St.  John ;  and  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill  is  a  large 
building  of  hewn  stone.  "  This  place,"  he  says,  "  is 
called  by  Europeans  the  enchanted  castle."  On  leaving 
Acre,  and  turning  towards  the  south-east,  the  tra- 
veller crosses  the  river  Belus,  near  its  mouth,  where 
the  stream  is  shallow  enough  to  be  easily  forded  on 
horseback.  This  river  rises  out  of  a  lake,  computed 
to  be  about  six  miles  distant,  towards  the  south-east, 
called  by  the  ancients  Palus  Cendovia.  Of  the  sand 
of  this  river,  according  to  Pliny,  glass  was  first  made  ; 
and  vessels  from  Italy  continued  to  remove  it  for  the 
glass-houses  of  Venice  and  Genoa,  so  late  as  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Farther  south- 
ward, towards  the  south-east  corner  of  the  bay  of 
Acre,  the  traveller  fords  "  that  ancient  river,  the 
river  Kishon,"  (Judges  v.  21.)  a  larger  stream  than 
the  Belus,  supposed  to  have  its  source  in  the  hills  to 

»  This  account  is  taken  from  Pococke,  book  i.  chap.  13. 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  27 

the  east  of  the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  which  it  intersects. 
Being  enlarged  by  several  small  streams,  it  passes 
between  Mount  Carmel  and  the  hills  to  the  north, 
and  then  falls  into  the  sea  at  this  point.  "  In  the 
condition  we  saw  it,"  says  Maundrell,  "  its  waters 
were  lew  and  inconsiderable ;  but  in  passing  along  the 
side  of  the  plain,  we  discerned  the  tracks  of  many 
lesser  torrents,  falling  down  into  it  from  the  moun- 
tains, which  must  needs  make  it  swell  exceedingly 
upon  sudden  rains,  as  doubtless  it  actually  did  at  the 
destruction  of  Sisera's  host."  Mount  Carmel  extends 
from  the  sea  eastward  as  far  as  the  plain  of  Esdraelon, 
and  southward  to  Cesarea,  Turning  the  foot  of  this 
mountain  towards  the  west,  you  arrive  at  Caypha, 
which  is  on  the  south  side  of  the  bay,  opposite  to 
Acre  ;  supposed  to  have  derived  its  name  (Kepha) 
from  the  rocky  ground  it  stands  upon,  out  of  which 
many  sepulchres  are  cut,  mostly  like  single  coffins,  but 
not  separated  from  the  rock,  and  probably  of  Jewish 
origin.  "  Caypha,"  says  Dr.  Pococke,  "  is  said  also 
to  have  had  the  name  of  Porphureon,  from  the  purple 
fish  found  on  this  coast,  with  which  they  made  the 
ancient  Tyrian  dye.  It  was  a  bishopric,  and  there  is 
a  well  -built  old  church  entire,  which  might  have  been 
the  cathedral.  There  are  also  ruins  of  a  large  build- 
ing, that  seems  to  have  been  the  castle ;  and  they 
have  built  two  forts,  as  a  defence  against  the  corsairs  ; 
for  this,  in  reality,  is  the  port  of  Acre,  where  ships  lie 
at  anchor,  it  being  a  bad  shore  on  the  other  side, 
where  they  cannot  remain  with  safety,  by  reason  of 
the  shallowness  of  the  water." 

There  are  two  roads  from  Acre  to  the  holy  city ; 
that  by  Cesarea  and  Joppa,  which  runs  for  some  way 
along  the  coast,  by  which  St.  Paul  came  to  Jerusalem, 
on  his  return  from  Macedonia  (Acts  xxi.);  and  that 


28  PALESTINE;  OR, 

by  Nazareth,  taken  by  Dr.  Clarke.  We  shall  pursue 
the  first  route  as  far  as  Jaffa,  on  the  authority  chiefly 
of  Dr.  Pococke. 

Opposite  to  Caypha,  the  learned  traveller  ascended 
Mount  Carmel,  to  the  Latin  convent  of  the  Car- 
melites,  inhabited  at  that  time  by  only  two  or  three 
monks.*  Great  part  of  the  present  convent,  and 
particularly  the  church  and  refectory,  are  grots  cut 
out  of  the  rock,  this  place  not  long  having  been  made 
a  monastery,  at  the  period  of  Dr.  Pococke's  visit. 
Towards  the  foot  of  the  hill  is  a  grot,  one  of  the 
finest,  he  says,  that  he  ever  saw.  "  It  is  like  a  grand 
saloon,  and  is  about  forty  feet  long,  twenty  wide,  and 
fifteen  high.  It  is  cut  out  of  the  rock,  and  is  now 
converted  into  a  mosque.  Over  this  convent  are  the 
ruins  of  the  old  monastery,  where  probably  the  order  of 
Carmelites  was  instituted  :  it  might  at  first  be  inhabited 
by  the  Greek  caloyers  of  the  order  of  St.  Elias,  who 
had  possession  of  these  parts  before  the  Latins  were 
established  here.  Near  it  is  a  chapel  in  a  grot,  where, 
they  say,  Elias  sometimes  lived,  which  is  resorted  to 
with  great  devotion  even  by  the  Turks,  as  well  as  by 
the  Christians  and  Jews,  on  the  festival  of  that  saint. 
We  staid  all  night  in  the  Latin  convent,  from  which 


•When  Captains  Irby  and  Mangles  visited  it  in  1817,  they 
found  the  building  entirely  deserted,  and  the  only  friar  belonging 
to  the  convent  residing  at  Hepha  (Caypha).  It  was  pillaged  and 
destroyed  by  the  Arabs  after  the  retreat  of  the  French  army 
from  the  siege  of  Acre ;  the  latter  having  used  it  as  an  hospital 
for  their  sick  and  wounded,  while  their  operations  were  carrying 
on ;  and  hi  the  places  where  the  poor  fellows  had  lain,  the  num- 
bers still  remain  by  which  they  were  arranged.  Near  the  con- 
vent they  noticed  some  prostrate  columns,  and  in  front  of  a  cave, 
shewn  as  the  place  where  Elijah  had  his  altar,  the  remains  of  a 
handsome  church  in  the  Gothic  style,  ascribed,  like  every  thing  of 
the 'kind  in  the  Holy  Land,  to  the  empress  Helena. 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  29 

there  is  a  very  fine  prospect.  The  next  morning  we 
descended  the  hill,  and  turning  to  the  west  side  of  it, 
went  a  little  way  to  the  south,  and  then  to  the  east, 
into  a  narrow  valley,  about  a  mile  long,  between  the 
mountains,  and  came  to  the  grotto  where,  they  say, 
Elias  usually  lived.  Near  it  is  his  fountain,  cut  out 
of  the  rock.  Here  are  the  ruins  of  a  convent  which, 
they  say,  was  built  by  Brocardus,  the  second  general  of 
the  Latin  Carmelites,  who  wrote  an  account  of  the 
Holy  Land.  Over  this,  on  the  top  of  the  hill,  is  a 
spot  of  ground  which  they  call  Elias's  garden,  because 
they  find  many  stones  there,  resembling  pears,  olives, 
and,  as  they  imagine,  water-melons :  the  last,  when 
broken,  appear  to  be  hollow,  and  the  inside  beautifully 
crystallized."* 

In  this  legend  we  have  a  specimen  of  the  absurd 
fictions  coined  by  illiterate  monks,  which  are  the  only 
species  of  information  the  traveller  is  able  to  obtain 
from  the  guardians  of  the  supposititious  sacred  places 
—fictions  not  having  the  slightest  pretension  to  the 
character  of  local  traditions,  and  often  in  palpable 
contradiction  to  the  sacred  history.  Yet,  it  would 
once  have  been  deemed  impious  to  call  in  question 
their  truth,  and  they  have  been  gravely  repeated  by 
the  most  learned  Protestant  travellers,  with  marvel- 
lous credulity.  It  is  observable  that  the  scene  of 
every  remarkable  incident  in  the  Scripture  narrative, 
has  been  laid,  by  the  monks,  in  grottos  or  caves; 
in  defiance,  frequently  not  of  credibility  merely,  but 
of  possibility,  as  well  as  in  opposition  to  the  known 
habits  of  the  Jews.  The  real  origin  of  these  caves  is 
an  interesting  question ;  but  the  disposition  to  attach 
a  sanctity  to  such  excavations,  whether  natural  or 

*  Travels  in  the  East,  book  i.  chap.  14. 
c  2 


30  PALESTINE;  OR, 

artificial,  seems  common  to  all  nations ;  it  discovered 
itself  in  the  ancient  Egyptian  and  the  classic  Greek, 
the  Christian  monk  and  the  idolatrous  Hindoo,  and 
has  been  displayed  even  by  the  North  American 
Indian.  They  have  been  converted  into  tombs  and 
temples,  have  been  the  scene  of  heathen  mysteries 
and  Romish  mummeries,  the  hiding-place  of  prophets 
and  saints,*  the  cell  of  the  hermit,  and  the  d  :n  of  the 
robber.  Thus  motives  of  the  most  various  kinds  have 
led  to  their  formation,  and  to  their  being  tenanted. 

Mount  Carmel  is  described  as  a  flattened  cone, 
about  2,000  feet  (some  say  1,500)  in  height,  and  very 
rocky.  Captain  Mangles  describes  it  as  now  quite 
barren,  though  at  the  north-eastern  foot  of  it  there 
are  some  pretty  olive-grounds.  But  the  name  pro- 
perly denotes  a  range  of  hills,  extending  six  or  eight 
miles  from  north  to  south,  having  on  the  east  a  fine 
plain,  watered  by  the  Kishon,  and  on  the  west  a 
narrower  plain  descending  to  the  sea.  The  summits 
abound  with  oak  and  other  trees ;  and  among  bram- 
bles, wild  vines  and  olive-trees  may  still  be  found, 
indicating  its  ancient  state  of  cultivation,  to  which  an 
allusion  occurs,  Amos  i.  2  ;  where  it  is  denounced  as 
a  punishment  upon  Israel,  that  u  the  top  of  Carmel 
shall  wither."  There  was  another  Carmel,  apparently 
a  pastoral  district,  situated  within  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
and  not  far  from  Maon.-j-  It  is  not  always  easy  to 
determine  to  which  of  these  the  reference  is  made, 
or  whether,  in  all  cases,  the  word  is  used  as  the 
specific  name  of  a  place.  To  this  Mount  Carmel, 
however,  on  the  top  of  which  Elijah  sacrificed,  the 
prophet  Amos  obviously  refers,  when,  speaking  in  the 


•  1  Kings  xviii.  4.    Heb.  xi.  38. 
Compare  Joshua  xv.  55.    1  Sam.  xxv.  2.    2  Sam.  iii.  3. 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  31 

name  of  God,  he  says  :  "  If  they  hide  themselves  in 
the  top  of  Cannel,  I  will  search  and  take  them  out 
thence."*  But,  as  the  height  of  the  mountain  will 
not  altogether  account  for  the  expression,  "  hide 
themselves,"  it  is  far  from  improbable,  that  there 
is  an  allusion  to  the  caves  with  which  it  abounded, 
and  which  seem  to  have  been  places  of  refuge  in  the 
time  of  Elijah.  The  "  excellency  of  Carmel,"f  if 
this  district  be  alluded  to,  may  denote  either  the  vine- 
yards and  olive  grounds  which  once  clothed  the  sides 
of  the  mountain,  or  the  rich  pastures  which  the  range 
of  hills  so  designated  seem  to  have  afforded,  and  which 
rendered  it  "  the  habitation  of  shepherds.":}: 

Pursuing  the  line  of  the  coast,  the  traveller  comes 
to  a  castle  on  a  small  rocky  promontory,  extending 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  into  the  sea,  and  nearly  half 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  broad,  having  a  small  bay  to  the 
south.  The  place  is  said  by  Pococke  to  bear  among 
the  Franks  the  name  of  Castel  Pellegrino,  but  to  be 
called  by  the  natives  Athlete.  It  was  formerly  called 
Petra  incisa.  "  There  seems,"  he  adds,  "  to  have 
been  a  town  to  the  east  and  south-east  of  the  pro- 
montory, as  appears  from  the  walls,  which  are  almost 
entire,  and  are  built  of  large  hewn  stone  rusticated." 
The  castle  he  describes  as  very  magnificent,  and  "  so 
finely  built,  that  it  may  be  reckoned  as  one  of  the 
things  that  are  best  worth  seeing  in  these  parts." — 
**  It  is  encompassed  with  two  walls,  fifteen  feet  thick , 
the  inner  wall  on  the  east  side  cannot  be  less  than 
forty  feet  high,  and  within  it  there  appear  to  have 
been  some  very  grand  apartments.  The  offices  of  the 
fortress  seem  to  have  been  at  the  west  end,  where  I 
saw  an  oven  eighteen  feet  in  diameter.  In  the  castle 

*  Amosix.  3.        f  Isaiah  xxix.  17  ;  xxxiii.  9;  xxxv.  2. 
t  Amos.  i.  2. 


32  PALESTINE  ;    OH, 

there  are  remains  of  a  fine  lofty  church  of  ten  sides, 
built  in  a  light  gothic  taste :  three  chapels  are  built 
to  the  three  eastern  sides,  each  of  which  consists  of  five 
sides,  excepting  the  opening  to  the  church  ;  in  these,  it 
is  probable,  the  three  chief  altars  stood.  The  castle 
seems  to  have  been  built  by  the  Greek  emperors,  as  a 
place  for  arms,  at  the  time  when  they  were  apprehen- 
sive of  the  invasions  of  the  Saracens."  * 

When  Pococke  visited  the  spot,  it  does  not  appear 
to  have  been  inhabited ;  but  Captains  Irby  and  Man- 
gles found  here  a  modern  village  situated  on  the  pro- 
montory, and  apparently  constructed  from  the  ruins 
of  the  ancient  city.  "  It  is,"  they  say,  "  of  small 
extent,  and  would  appear,  from  its  elevated  situation 
and  the  old  walls  which  surround  it,  to  have  been  a 
citadel,  as  there  are  the  ruins  of  two  other  walls  with- 
out it.  The  outer  one,  which  we  may  suppose  to 
have  included  the  remainder  of  the  ancient  town, 
incloses  a  considerable  space  of  ground  now  unin- 
habited." Referring  to  the  ruins  of  the  church,  they 
state  that  its  form  was  originally  a  double  hexagon ; 
the  half  still  standing  has  six  sides.  On  the  exterior, 
below  the  cornice,  are  human  heads  and  heads  of 
animals,  (those  of  the  lion,  the  ram,  and  the  sheep, 
are  distinguishable,)  in  alto-relievo.  The  exterior 
walls  have  a  double  line  of  arches  in  the  gothic  style, 
the  architecture  light  and  elegant.  "  From  the  com- 
modiousness  of  the  bay,  the  extent  of  the  quarries  in 
the  neighbourhood,  and  the  fine  rich  plains  near  it, 
though  now  but  partially  cultivated,  it  would  seem," 
they  add,  "  that  this  place  was  formerly  of  much  im- 
portance, and  that  the  neighbourhood,  though  now 
very  thinly  inhabited,  was  once  populous." 

*  Travels  in  the  East,  book  i.  chap.  15. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  33 

About  ten  miles  to  the  south  of  Castel  Pellegrino, 
is  the  small  village  of  Tortura,  supposed  to  be  the 
ancient  Dora,  with  a  port  to  the  south  for  large  boats, 
which  are  sometimes  forced  to  put  in  by  stress  of 
weather.  To  the  north  of  the  port  is  a  small  pro- 
montory, on  which  there  is  a  ruined  castle  ;  and  here, 
probably,  was  situated  the  old  town.  Captain  Mangles 
says,  "  There  are  extensive  ruins  here,  but  they  pos- 
sess nothing  of  interest." 

Between  three  and  four  miles  south  of  Tortura, 
the  traveller  crosses  a  small  river  called  Coradge, 
supposed  by  Pococke  to  be  the  Kerseos  of  Ptolemy ; 
and,  about  three  miles  north  of  Cesarea,  he  passes  the 
river  Zirka,  the  flumen  crocodilon  of  Pliny,  and  the 
river  Cesarea  of  Palestine  of  Reland.  Dr.  Pococke 
was  credibly  informed  on  the  spot,  that  there  are 
crocodiles  in  this  river,  agreeably  to  Reland's  state- 
ment, and  that  some  of  these  had  been  brought  to 
Acre.  "  They  say  the  crocodiles  are  small,  not  ex- 
ceeding five  or  six  feet  in  length,  but  that  they  have 
taken  some  young  cattle  that  were  standing  in  the 
river  ;  so  that  it  is  probable,  a  colony  from  some  city 
in  Egypt  that  worshipped  the  crocodile,  came  and 
settled  here,  and  brought  their  deities  along  with 
them." 

Cesarea  is  still  called  by  the  Arabs  Kissary,  but  not 
a  single  inhabitant  remains  where  once  stood  the 
proud  city  of  Herod.  "  Perhaps  there  has  not  besn," 
remarks  Dr.  Clarke,  "  in  the  history  of  the  world, 
an  example  of  any  city  that  in  so  short  a  space  of 
time  rose  to  such  an  extraordinary  height  of  splendour 
as  did  this  of  Cesarea,  or  that  exhibits  a  more  awful 
contrast  to  its  former  magnificence,  by  the  present 
desolate  appearance  of  its  ruins.  Its  theatres,  once 
resounding  with  the  shouts  of  multitudes,  echo  no 


34  PALESTINE  ;    OR, 

other  sound  than  the  nightly  cries  of  animals  roaming 
for  their  prey.  Of  its  gorgeous  palaces  and  temples, 
enriched  with  the  choicest  works  of  art,  and  decorated 
with  the  most  precious  marbles,  scarcely  a  trace  can 
be  discerned.  Within  the  space  of  ten  years  after 
laying  the  foundation,  from  an  obscure  fortress, 
(called  the  Tower  of  Strato,  as  it  is  said,  from  the 
Greek  who  founded  it,)  it  became  the  most  celebrated 
and  flourishing  city  of  all  Syria."  It  was  named 
Cesarea  by  Herod,  in  honour  of  Augustus,  and 
dedicated  by  him  to  that  Emperor,  in  the  twenty- 
eighth  year  of  his  reign  ;  and  it  was  called  Cesarea  of 
Palestine,  to  distinguish  it  from  Cesarea  Philippi,  or 
Cesarea  Paneadis.  It  was  afterwards  called  Colonia 
Flavia,  in  consequence  of  privileges  granted  to  it  by 
Vespasian,  who  made  it  a  Roman  colony.  *  It  is 
reckoned  to  be  thirty-six  miles  from  Acre,  thirty 
from  Jaffa,  and  sixty -two  from  Jerusalem. 

Though  conveniently  situated  for  trade,  Cesarea 
had  originally  a  very  bad  harbour ;  but  Herod,  at  a 
great  expense,  made  it  one  of  the  most  convenient 
havens  on  the  coast.-f-  A  mole  is  mentioned,  which 
was  carried  out  200  feet  into  the  sea.  Dr.  Pococke 
observed  flat  rocks  about  the  port,  on  which  some 
works  were  probably  raised  to  protect  the  vessels  from 
the  westerly  winds.  The  supposed  sites  of  the  ancient 
edifices  are  mere  mounds  of  undefinable  form,  afford- 
ing no  basis  for  topographical  conjectures.  The 
aqueducts,  however,  still  remain,  as  monuments  of 
its  ancient  magnificence ;  they  run  north  and  south. 
The  lower  aqueduct,  which  is  to  the  east  of  the  other, 

•  On  a  medal  of  Marcus  Aureiius  it  is  called  COL.  PRIMA 
FL.  AUG.  CAESAREA. 

t  Josephus,  Antiq.  lib.  xv.  cap.  13.,  and  De  Bello  Jud.  lib.  L 
cap.  21. 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  35 

is  carried  along  on  a  wall  without  arches,  and  of  no 
great  height ;  it  is  thirteen  feet  thick,  and  seems  to 
have  conveyed  a  great  body  of  water  in  an  arched 
channel,  which  is  five  feet  six  inches  wide.  The  other 
aqueduct,  forty  yards  nearer  the  sea,  is  built  on 
arches ;  the  side  next  the  sea  is  a  rusticated  work, 
but  the  east  side  is  plastered  with  a  strong  cement. 
Both  aqueducts  are  now  almost  buried  in  the  sand. 
The  walls  of  the  town  are  said  to  have  been  built  in 
the  time  of  the  Crusades,  by  Louis  IX.  of  France ; 
they  are  of  small  hewn  stone,  and  about  a  mile  in 
circumferenee,  defended  by  a  broad  fosse.  The 
ancient  city  extended  farther  to  the  north.  On  a 
point  of  land  stretching  from  the  south-west  corner 
of  the  walls,  there  are  the  ruins  of  a  very  strong 
castle,  to  which  Pococke  is  disposed  to  assign  the 
same  date  as  to  the  walls,  and  which  he  describes  as 
full  of  fragments  of  very  fine  marble  pillars,  some  of 
granite,  and  a  beautiful  grey  alabaster.  Captain 
Mangles  says,  that  it  has  apparently  been  constructed 
on  the  ruins  of  a  Roman  temple,  as  immense  pillars  of 
granite  form  the  foundation.  These,  no  doubt,  are 
some  of  the  materials  used  by  Dje-zzar  Pasha  in  the 
construction  and  decoration  of  his  palace  and  the 
public  buildings  at  Acre.  "  Within  the  walls,"  con- 
tinues Pococke,  "  there  are  great  ruins  of  arched 
houses,  which  probably  were  built  during  the  time  of 
the  Holy  War ;  but  the  ground  is  so  much  overgrown 
with  briers  and  thistles,  that  it  was  impossible  to  go 
to  any  part  where  there  was  not  a  beaten  path.  It 
is  a  remarkable  resort  for  wild  boars,  which  abound 
also  in  the  neighbouring  plain ;  and  when  the  Ma- 
hommedans  kill  them,  they  leave  their  carcases  on  the 
spot,  as  it  would  defile  them  only  to  touch  them. 
There  is  no  other  remarkable  ruin  within  the  walls, 


36  PALESTINE;  OK, 

except  a  large  church,  which  probably  was  the  cathe- 
dral of  the  archbishop,  who  had  twenty  bishops  under 
him :  it  is  a  strong  building,  and  appears  to  have 
been  destroyed  by  war,  as  well  as  the  castle.  By  what 
I  could  conjecture,  it  seems  to  have  been  built  in 
the  style  of  the  Syrian  churches,  with  three  naves, 
which  ended  to  the  east  in  semicircles,  where  they 
had  their  principal  altars.  The  rising  ground  to  the 
south,  where  I  suppose  the  amphitheatre  was  built, 
seems  to  have  been  the  site  of  a  castle  in  later  ages, 
and  to  have  had  a  square  tower  at  each  corner,  and 
a  fossee  on  three  sides  of  it."  There  is  reason  to 
believe  that  the  Crusaders  have  had  as  large  a  share 
in  demolishing  the  monuments  of  Jewish  and  Roman 
art  in  the  Holy  Land,  as  the  Moslems.  Dr.  Clarke 
did  not  visit  Cesarea  ;  but  from  off  the  coast,  the 
remains  of  the  city  still  had  the  appearance  of  being 
numerous  and  extensive,  notwithstanding  they  had 
been  so  long  resorted  to  as  a  quarry  by  the  Pasha 
of  Acre. 

Cesarea  is  rendered  interesting  to  the  Christian  as 
the  city  where  St.  Paul  so  lonf  resided  as  a  prisoner, 
and  where  he  uttered  that  eloquent  oration  before 
King  Agrippa  and  Felix,  which  is  preserved  in  the 
twenty-sixth  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 
Here  also  Cornelius  the  centurion  resided,  and  Philip 
the  evangelist ;  and  repeated  mention  is  made  of  it 
in  the  Sacred  History,  as  the  port  from  which  the 
apostles  embarked  for  Greece,  or  at  which  they 
landed.* 

The  road  between  Cesarea  and  Jaffa  is  thus  de- 
cribed  by  Mr.  Buckingham,  who  took  this  route 
to  Jerusalem  in  1816.  For  an  hour  and  a  half  the 

*  See  Acts,  ix.  30;  x.  24;  xviii.  22;  xxi.  8,  10. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  37 

road  continued  along  the  shore,  chiefly  on  a  sandy 
beach,  with  here  and  there  beds  of  rock  towards 
the  sea ;  it  then  turned  up  from  the  sea,  and  lay 
over  desert  ground  for  about  an  hour ;  after  which 
it  returned  to  the  beach.  At  three  hours'  distance 
from  Cesarea,  Mr.  B.  crossed  a  low  point  of  land, 
called  Min  (Port)  Tabos  Aboora,  where  there  is  a 
small  bay,  obstructed  by  broken  masses  of  rock.  It 
was  said  to  be  a  scala,  to  which  fruit  is  brought  from 
the  neighbouring  country  behind  Jaffa  and  to  the 
north  of  it,  and  here  shipped  in  boats  for  the  more 
northern  parts  of  Syria.  At  half  an  hour's  distance 
from  this  point  the  road  again  leaves  the  sea,  and 
for  about  an  hour  crosses  a  desert,  covered  with  sand, 
long  wild  grass,  and  a  few  bushes.  "  At  one," 
continues  this  traveller,  "  we  came  in  sight  of  a  culti- 
vated plain,  with  a  long  valley  running  eastward, 
and  shewing  us  on  the  hill  the  small  village  of  El- 
sheikh  Moosa,  having  a  large  building  in  its  centre  ; 
we  crossed  this  valley,  and,  ascending  a  gentle  hill, 
came,  at  half-past  one,  in  sight  of  a  more  extensive 
and  beautiful  plain,  covered  with  trees,  and  having 
the  first  carpet  of  verdure  that  we  had  yet  seen.  On 
the  left,  we  entered  the  small  village  of  El  Mukhalid. 
This  village  resembled  an  Egyptian  one,  in  the  form 
and  construction  of  its  huts,  more  than  any  we  had 
yet  passed ;  and  was  also  the  poorest  we  had  seen, 
consisting  of  not  more  than  ten  or  fifteen  dwellings. 
I  was  surprised  that  so  fine  a  situation  as  it  com- 
mands should  not  have  been  occupied  by  some  larger 
settlement,  as  the  plains  below  and  at  the  foot  of 
it  are  more  extensive,  more  beautiful,  and,  to  all 
appearance,  quite  as  fertile  as  those  of  Acre,  of 
Zabulon,  or  of  Carmel.  On  going  round  the  village, 
tve  found,  at  its  south-west  angle,  a  considerable 
PART  i.  n 


38  PALESTINE;  OR, 

portion  of  a  large  building  remaining,  having  nearly 
fifty  feet  of  its  side-wall,  and  one  perfect  end-wall 
still  standing.  It  was  built  of  well-hewn  stones, 
regularly  placed  and  strongly  cemented,  and  shewed 
equally  good  masonry  with  that  of  the  fort  at  Cesarea, 
the  style  of  which  it  resembled.  In  one  part  of  the 
side  were  seen  narrow  windows  and  loop-holes  ;  but 
whether  it  was  solely  a  military  post,  a  private  dwell- 
ing provided  for  its  own  defence,  or  the  only  remain- 
ing building  of  some  ancient  town,  we  could  not  decide. 
The  presence  of  broken  potter)',  and  particularly  of 
the  ribbed  kind,  scattered  about  in  great  quantities 
around  the  village,  and  at  some  distance  from  it, 
inclined  me  to  the  latter  opinion.  The  situation 
corresponds  very  nearly  to  that  of  Antipatris,  a  city 
built  by  Herod,  and  so  called  after  his  father 
Antipater.  This  city  is  described  as  being  seated 
at  the  descent  of  a  mountainous  country,  on  the 
border  of  a  plain  named  Saronas,  terminated  by  the 
sea  :  which  agrees  exactly  with  the  local  features  of 
ElMnkhalid."* 

Mr.  Buckingham's  conjecture,  however,  is  inad- 
missible. Antipatris,  the  ancient  Caphar  Saba,  (or, 
as  Josephus  writes  it,  Chabarzaba,)  was  seventeen 
miles  from  Jaffa,  ten  from  Lydda,  and  twenty-six 
from  Cesarea.  El  Mukhalid  is  only  between  seven- 
teen and  eighteen  miles  from  Cesarea  ;  and  it  is  im- 
possible to  trace  any  identity  between  its  present 
name  and  that  of  Caphar  Saba.  Springs  and  rivulets, 
also,  are  stated  to  have  distinguished  the  locality  of 
Antipatris.  The  situation,  in  point  of  relative  dis- 
tance, corresponds  more  nearly  to  that  of  Apollonia,  a 


*  Travels  in   Palestine,  by  J.   S.   Buckingham,  tfvo.    vol.   i. 
pp.  217,  *1H. 


THE  HOLY  LAND  .          39 

city  of  Palestine,  near  the  sea,  at  almost  an  equal 
distance  between  Jaffa  and  Cesarea,  referred  to  by 
Josephus,  Pliny,  and  Ptolemy.  The  site  of  Anti-  / 
patris  remains,  therefore,  to  be  determined.  It  was 
to  that  city  that  St.  Panl  was  brought  by  night,  under 
a  strong  escort  from  Jerusalem,  when  he  was  sent  a 
prisoner  to  Felix.  Acts  xxiii.  31. 

Leaving  El  Mukhalid,  the  travellers  had  the  plain 
below  it  on  their  left,  and  soon  entered  again  on 
a  desert  track  ,of  sand,  mixed  with  wild  grass  and 
a  few  bushes.  They  then  came  to  a  "  narrow,  fertile 
pass,"  having  caves  and  grottos  on  each  side ;  at 
the  end  of  which  they  ascended  to  an  elevated  plain 
where  husbandmen  were  sowing,  and  some  thousands 
of  starlings  covered  the  ground,  as  the  wild  pigeons  do 
in  Egypt,  laying  a  heavy  contribution  on  the  grain. 
Continuing  along  this  plain  for  above  an  hour,  they 
arrived  at  the  village  of  Heram,  where  they  halted. 
This  village  is  seated  on  a  high  promontory,  over- 
looking the  sea  :  though  containing  not  more  than 
forty  or  fifty  dwellings,  it  possesses  a  mosque,  with  a 
minaret,  the  approach  to  which  is  over  a  small  green 
plat,  with  a  worn  foot-path  winding  up  it,  like  some 
of  our  church-paths.  Just  before  entering  the  village, 
Mr.  Buckingham  again  noticed  caves  and  marks  of 
excavated  dwellings.  On  leaving  their  quarters  in 
the  morning,  they  descended  to  the  beach,  and  con- 
tinued along  the  coast,  under  brown  cliffs  and  hills, 
till  they  came,  in  about  two  hours,  Mr.  Buckingham 
says,  to  the  Nahr-el-Arsouf,  which,  being  shallow, 
they  easily  forded.  Here,  in  the  days  of  the  Crusades, 
stood  a  castle,  which  is  no  longer  to  be  seen.  In  half 
an  hour  they  came  to  a  little  domed  fountain,  on  the 
brow  of  the  cliff;  they  observed  that  the  beach  beneath 


40  PALESTINE;  OR, 

was  covered  with  small  shells,  to  the  depth  of  several 
feet.  Soon  after,  they  approached  Jaffa. 

Captains  Irby  and  Mangles,  in  passing  from  Egypt 
to  Syria,  took  the  same  route  along  the  coast  of 
Palestine.  After  leaving  Jaffa,  they  shortly  crossed 
the  Nahr  el  Petras  ;  of  which  Mr.  Buckingham  takes 
no  notice  unless  he  mistook  it  for  the  Arsouf,  which 
would  account  for  his  not  perceiving  any  ruins  there. 
After  crossing  Nahr  el  Petras,  the  travellers  passed 
through  a  wild  but  pretty  country,  and  [then]  crossed 
the  Nahr  el  Arsouf,  leaving  the  village  of  that  name 
(the  ancient  Apollonias)  on  their  left.  The  following 
morning  they  proceeded  very  early,  and  crossing  the 
Nanr  el  Kasab,  arrived  at  Cesarea.*  As  they  men- 
tion neither  El  Mukhalid  nor  Heram,  their  account 
throws  little  light  on  the  account  given  by  Mr. 
Buckingham. 

Jaffa,  or  Yaffa,  the  ancient  Joppa,  is  one  of  the 
most  ancient  sea-ports  in  the  world;  its  traditional 
history  stretches  far  back  into  the  twilight  of  time, 
and  Pliny  assigns  it  a  date  anterior  to  the  deluge. 
In  his  time,  they  pretended  to  exhibit  the  marks  of 
the  chain  with  which  Andromeda  was  fastened  to  a 
rock  ;  and  the  supposed  skeleton  of  the  sea-monster 
to  which  she  was  exposed  was  long  preserved  at 
Rome.  Here,  too,  if  tradition  may  be  credited,  Noah 
built  his  ark  !  Hither,  however,  the  most  authentic 
of  all  records  informs  us,  King  Solomon  ordered  the 
materials  of  the  Temple  to  be  brought  by  sea  from 
Mount  Libanus ;  here  the  prophet  Jonah  embarked 
for  Tarshish,  862  years  before  the  Christian  era ;  and 


*  Travels  In  Egypt,  &c.  by  the  Honourable  C.  L.  Irby  and 
J.  Mangles,  8vo.  p.  199. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  41 

here,  in  apostolic  times,  St.  Peter  restored  Tabitlia 
to  life.  In  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century,  it 
was  fortified  by  Louis  IX. ;  but,  in  1647,  Monconys,  a 
French  traveller,  found  nothing  at  Jaffa,  but  a  castle 
and  some  caverns.  Lastly,  in  1799,  the  modern  town 
was  taken  by  Bonaparte,  and  signalised  by  that 
massacre  of  Turkish  prisoners,  which  has  afforded 
so  much  matter  for  discussion,  as  one  of  the  darkest 
charges  laid  against  the  character  of  Napoleon.*  It 
is  situated  in  lat.  32°  2'  N.  and  long.  34°  53'  E.,  and 
is  forty  miles  W.  of  Jerusalem.  Its  situation,  as  the 
nearest  port  to  the  Holy  City,  has  been  the  chief 
cause  of  its  importance.  As  a  station  for  vessels, 
according  to  Dr.  Clarke,  its  harbour  is  one  of  the 
worst  in  the  Mediterranean.  Ships  generally  anchor 
about  a  mile  from  the  town,  to  avoid  the  shoals  and 
rocks  of  the  place.  The  badness  of  the  harbour  is 
mentioned,  indeed,  by  Josephus.  He  speaks  of  both 
Joppa  and  Dora,  as  "  lesser  maritime  cities,  not  fit 
for  havens,  on  account  of  the  impetuous  south-winds 
that  beat  upon  them ;  which  rolling  the  sands  that 
come  from  the  sea  against  the  shores  do  not  admit 
of  ships  lying  in  their  station  :  but  the  merchants  are 
generally  there  forced  to  ride  at  their  anchors  on  the 
sea  itself."  And  he  proceeds  to  describe  the  works  by 
which  Herod  endeavoured  to  rectify  a  similar  incon- 
venience of  situation  at  Cesarea.-f-  The  road  is  pro- 
tected by  a  castle  built  on  a  rock,  and  there  are  some 


*  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  massacre  took  place ;  the  only 
question  relates  to  the  number,  and  the  probable  motive  or 
alleged  justification.  Bonaparte's  statement  was,  that  they  were 
prisoners  who  had  been  dismissed  on  parole,  and  who  afterwards 
joined  the  garrison  at  Jaffa,  and  that  500  only  were  put  to 
death. 

t  Jo*»ph'is,  Antiq.  book  xv.  chap.  !>. 


42  PALESTINE,   Oil, 

storehouses  and  magazines  on  the  sea-side.  The 
coast  is  low,  but  little  elevated  above  the  level  of 
the  sea ;  but  the  town  occupies  an  eminence,  in  the 
form  of  a  sugar-loaf,  with  a  citadel  on  the  summit. 
The  bottom  of  the  hill  is  surrounded  with  a  wall 
twelve  or  fourteen  feet  high,  and  two  or  three  feet 
thick.  The  environs  are  occupied  by  extensive  gar- 
dens, the  light  sandy  soil  being  peculiarly  favourable 
for  the  production  of  different  kinds  of  fruit.  These 
gardens  are  fenced  with  hedges  of  the  prickly  pear, 
and  are  plentifully  stocked  with  pomegranate,  orange, 
lemon,  and  fig-trees,  and  water-melons.  The  latter 
are  celebrated  all  over  the  Levant  for  their  delicious 
flavour.  Those  which  are  produced  at  Jaffa  and  at 
Damietta  in  Egypt,  seem  to  owe  their  peculiar  excel- 
lence to  the  soil  and  climate  of  these  two  places  ;  for, 
when  transplanted,  though  cultivated  in  the  same  man  - 
ner,  they  lose  their  exquisite  flavour,  and  degenerate 
into  the  common  water-melon.  The  lemons  and 
oranges,  also,  grow  here  to  a  prodigious  size.  The 
commerce  of  the  town  chiefly  consists  in  the  importa- 
tion of  grain,  particularly  of  rice  from  Egypt,  and  the 
export  of  cotton  and  soap.  In  Pococke's  time,  a  great 
trade  in  soap  was  carried  on  at  Jaffa  :  it  is  made  of 
olive-oil  and  ashes.  Egypt  was  chiefly  supplied  from 
this  port.  There  are  no  antiquities  in  Jaffa  :  the  place 
would  seem  to  be  too  old  to  have  any — to  have  outlived 
all  that  once  rendered  it  interesting.  The  inhabitants 
are  estimated  at  between  four  and  five  thousand  souls, 
of  Avhom  the  greater  part  are  Turks  and  Arabs ;  the 
Christians  are  stated  to  be  about  six  hundred,  con- 
sisting of  Roman  Catholics,  Greeks,  Maronites,  and 
Armenians.  The  Latins,  Greeks,  and  Armenians, 
have  each  a  small  convent  for  the  reception  of  pil- 
grims. Of  these,  the  Greeks  are  represented  as  by 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  4'J 

far  the  most  affable  and  agreeable  to  strangers  ;  the 
Armenians  as  the  most  triste  and  austere,  at  least  in 
appearance. 

At  Jaffa,  the  route  from  Egypt  by  the  Desert  of 
Suez,  falls  into  what  may  be  considered  as  the 
high  road  of  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  City.  As  this 
route  completes  the  line  of  coast,  we  shall,  before 
pursuing  the  journey  to  Jerusalem,  trace  the  road 
from  El  Arisch. 

ROUTE  FROM  EL  ARISCH  TO  JAFFA. 

EL  ARISCH*  is  held  by  the  Pasha  of  Egypt ;  but 
as  it  is  the  first  town  on  the  Syrian  side  of  the  Desert 
of  Suez,  it  may  be  considered  as  the  natural  frontier 
of  Palestine  on  that  side.  It  is  seated  upon  a  slightly 
elevated  rock,  in  the  midst  of  drifting  sands  ;  and  its 
substantial  fortress,  with  the  village  hanging  under 
its  eastern  front,  has  an  imposing  appearance.  The 
rock  is  a  shell-limestone,  with  a  greater  proportion 
of  both  chalk  and  shells  than  any  of  the  rocks  in 
Egypt,  The  castle  was  put  into  good  condition  by 
the  French,  and  furnished  with  octagonal  towers  for 
artillery ;  it  is  defended  by  twelve  pieces  of  cannon. 
The  district  of  El  Arisch  is  computed  to  contain  2000" 
inhabitants.  The  water  here  is  slightly  brackish. 
Cultivation  commences  almost  immediately  beyond, 
but  has  to  struggle  with  the  sand,  which  is  plentifully 
sprinkled  over  the  soil.  The  route  lies,  for  about 
twenty  or  twenty-two  miles,  over  an  undulating 
surface,  in  which  grass  and  sand  dispute  the  supe- 
riority, to  Sheikh  Juide,  a  ruined  village,  plaasantly 

*  Either  the  ancient  Ostracine  or  Rhinocolura;  probably  the 
latter,  which  was  considered  as  the  last  Egyptian  town,  though  on 
the  Syrian  confines. 


44  PALESTINE  ;    OK, 

• 

situated  at  the  upper  end  of  a  narrow  valley :  it  in 
said  to  have  been  burned  by  the  French  on  their  way 
to  Egypt,  and  has  never  been  rebuilt.  The  tomb 
of  the  venerable  sheikh  who  has  bequeathed  his  name 
both  to  the  ruins  and  the  valley,  is  all  that  remains 
standing.  Over  it  Dr.  Richardson  saw,  suspended 
by  the  four  corners,  after  the  superstitious  fashion  of 
the  country,  a  black  and  white  cloth,  with  a  large 
ostrich  egg,  and  a  few  monumental  charms  hanging 
above  it ;  close  by  is  an  extensive  burying-ground  ; 
a  large  field  of  barley  was  nearly  ripe,  while  the 
landscape  all  around  was  picturesque  and  cultivated, 
but  the  crops  seemed  poor.*  They  improved  in 
appearance  on  approaching  Rafah,  (anciently  called 
Raphia,)  about  three  hours  from  Sheikh  Juide.  -f- 
Here  a  great  battle  was  fought  between  Ptolemy  the 
Fourth,  King  of  Egypt,  and  Antiochus  the  Great, 
the  monarch  of  Syria.  On  the  top  of  the  hill  there 
were  still  standing  two  columns  of  grey  granite,  beside 
a  small  heap  of  rubbish.  A  little  way  down  the  hill  is 
a  deep  well,  of  tolerably  good  water,  the  sides  of  the 
shaft  of  which  are  regularly  built  up,  and  covered 
at  the  top  to  exclude  the  sun  ;  it  is  surrounded  with 
scattered  columns  of  granite.  Two  hours  farther  brings 
the  traveller  to  Hanoonis,  or  Khanyounes  (Jenysus}, 
situated  on  an  eminence  on  the  south  side  of  the 
valley;  this  is  the  last  village  which  pays  tribute 
to  the  Pasha  of  Egypt.  Dair,  the  next  place,  is 
in  the  pashalic  of  Gaza.  There  is  no  perceptible 
line  of  division  between  the  two  governments.  At 

»  Richardson's  Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  194. 

\  Josephus  and  Polybius  make  Raphia  the  first  city  in  Syria 
in  coming  from  Egypt.  It  was  a  bishonric  of  the  Eastern 
Church. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  45 

Dair  there  is  plenty  of  good  water,  raised  by  a  water- 
wheel,  resembling  the  Persian  wheels  in  Egypt  and 
Nubia  ;  and  three  beautiful  marble  cohimns,  laid  toge- 
ther, form  a  trough  for  the  cattle.  The  country 
beyond  continues  to  present  the  same  kind  of  rural 
scenery  ;  beautiful  undulating  fields,  covered  with 
flocks  and  herds,  and  crops  of  wheat,  barley,  lentils, 
and  tobacco.  The  breed  of  black  cattle  is  described  as 
not  near  so  handsome,  however,  as  that  of  Egypt. 
A  few  miles  beyond  Dair,  at  the  foot  of  a  hill,  the 
traveller  crosses  the  bed  of  a  torrent,  about  thirty 
yards  wide,  called  El  Wadi  (or  El  Oa  di)  Gaza.  The 
fine  alluvial  plain  is,  apparently,  in  the  rainy  season 
surrounded  by  the  river. 

A  slight  variation  occurs  in  the  route  taken  by  the 
(pseudo)  Ali  Bey.*  Quitting  the  usual  track,  he 
traversed  some  cultivated  hills,  to  the  south-east ;  he 
remarked,  in  his  way,  some  fields  completely  burrowed, 
as  he  was  informed,  by  the  rats,  but,  he  conjectures, 
by  djerboas.  He  gives  the  distance  seven  hours  from 
El  Arisch  to  Sheikh  Zouail,  and  four  hours  thence 
in  a  straight  line  to  Khanyounes :  which  is  described 
as  well  situated,  at  a  short  distance  from  the  sea,  and 
surrounded  with  walls  and  gardens  ;  the  first  inhabited 
place  on  entering  Syria  from  the  south.  From  hence 
to  Gaza  is  a  march  of  four  hours,  making  the  distance 
from  El  Arisch  about  forty-eight  miles. 

After  crossing  El  Wadi  Gaza,  the  road  ascends  a 
hill,  from  the  summit  of  which  the  whitened  tomb  of 
the  Sheikh  Ab  Ali  is  seen  crowning  the  lofty  pro- 
montory of  the  mountains  of  Hebron  on  the  right, 
and  the  town  and  minarets  of  Gaza  occupy  the 

*  Travels  of  Ali  Bey,  vol.  ii.  pp.  20:«,  ;•(><!. 
D  2 


46  PALKSTINK;  on, 

summit  of  a  mound  in  the  plain  on  the  left.  A  hedge 
of  Indian  fig  lines  the  road  on  each  side,  and  a  num. 
ber  of  upright  marble  tomb-stones  mark  the  spot 
where  it  turns  to  the  left,  and  winds,  like  a  serpentine 
walk  through  pleasure-gardens,  to  the  gates  of  the 
city.  The  gardens  are  enclosed  with  hedges  of  Indian 
fig,  and  abound  in  tall  spreading  sycamore  trees, 
which  give  them  a  delightful  appearance,  although 
but  indifferently  stocked.  The  town  and  the  burying- 
ground  cover  the  top  of  the  eminence,  which  is  about 
two  miles  in  circumference  at  the  base,  and  appears 
to  have  been  wholly  enclosed  within  the  ancient  forti- 
fications ;  according  to  the  ancient  mode  of  warfare, 
it  must  have  been  a  place  of  considerable  strength. 
For  two  months  it  baffled  all  the  efforts  of  Alexander 
the  Great,  who  was  repeatedly  repxilsed,  and  wounded 
in  the  siege :  which  he  afterwards  revenged  in  a  most 
infamous  manner  on  the  person  of  the  gallant  de- 
fender, Betis,  whom,  while  yet  alive,  having  ordered 
his  ankles  to  be  bored,  he  dragged  round  the  walls, 
tied  to  his  chariot- wheels,  in  the  barbarous  parade  of 
imitating  the  less  savage  treatment  of  the  corpse  of 
Hector  by  Achilles. 

There  are  no  antiquities  of  any  consequence  at  Gaza. 
The  streets  are  very  narrow ;  and  the  houses,  most 
of  which  have  gardens,  are  generally  without  win- 
dows. The  country  abounds  with  calcareous  stone, 
or  coarse  marble  of  a  fine  white  colour,  of  which  all 
the  principal  edifices  are  built.  There  are  a  number 
of  mosques,  and  some  fine  tombs.  Th-i  largest  mosque 
is  <m  ancient  Greek  church,  to  which  the  Turks  have 
added  several  buildings,  in  vile  taste,  which  do  not 
harmonize  with  the  rest.*  In  several  parts  of  the  town 

•  Richardson's  Travels,  voL  ii.  p  10(5,  100. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  47 

may  be  seen  a  few  scattered  columns  of  grey  granite, 
probably  of  Roman  architecture  ;  and  there  are  the 
remains  of  a  round  edifice,  assignable  to  the  same 
period.  El  Serai  (the  seraglio),  the  governor's  man- 
sion, is  a  large  awkward-looking  building,  of  Sara- 
cenic architecture.  El  Muhkumut,  or  the  tribunal, 
the  residence  of  the  kadi,  is  also  a  large  edifice.  The 
markets  are  well  supplied ;  provisions  cheap ;  the 
water,  which  is  procured  from  wells,  is  both  good 
and  clear  ;  the  bread  indifferent,  but  the  meat,  fowls, 
and  vegetables,  of  excellent  quality.  Altogether  there 
is  an  air  of  comfort  about  the  town  and  its  inhabit- 
ants, very  striking  to  travellers  coming  from  Egypt. 
The  inhabitants  are  stated  by  Dr.  Richardson  to  be 
between  two  and  three  thousand ;  they  consist  of  a 
mixture  of  Turks  and  Arabs,  "  from  all  the  Arabias," 
Egypt,  and  Syria, — Fellahs,  Bedouins,  &c.,  those  of 
each  nation  wearing  their  particular  costume.  The 
town  is  governed  by  a  Turkish  aga.  Its  distance 
from  the  sea  is  about  three  miles  ;  from  Jaffa  a  day's 
journey  and  a  half;  and  "  two  long  days'  journey 
from  Jerusalem."  * 

The  sheep  of  this  district  are  exceedingly  fine, 
black-faced  and  white-faced  ;  many  of  them  with  a 
brown-coloured  fleece  ;  the  leaders  of  the  flock  bearing 
the  bell,  as  in  this  country.  The  peasantry  plough 
with  two  oxen  :  the  plough  is  remarkably  slight,  with 
only  one  handle  ;  the  beam  and  yoke  so  very  short, 
that,  without  moving  from  his  post,  the  ploughman 
can  goad  the  oxen  with  the  long  stick  he  carries  in 
one  hand,  while  he  holds  the  plough  with  the  other. 
Descending  from  the  height  of  Gaza  into  the  plain, 


*  Travels  of  All  Bey,  vol.  ii.  pp.  20&-208.    Richardson's  Travel*, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  197—199. 


48  PALESTINE;  OK, 

the  traveller,  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  passes 
through  an  olive-ground,  the  trees  of  which  are  old 
and  large,  and  judiciously  planted  ;  "  not  crowded 
together  in  such  impenetrable  masses  as  in  the  Ionian 
Isles,  so  as  to  prevent  a  free  circulation  of  air  and 
infect  the  neighbourhood  with  a  noisome  damp,  but 
free  and  open,  admitting  of  the  cultivation  and  healthy 
growth  of  vegetables  at  their  roots."  On  the  edge 
of  this  grove,  Dr.  Richardson  met  with  a  number  of 
storks,  a  bird  held  in  high  veneration  by  the  Mus- 
sulmans. A  little  beyond  the  small  village  of  Bet 
Hanoon,  which  lay  to  the  right  of  the  road,  he 
crossed  the  deep  bed  (then  dry)  of  a  winter  torrent, 
supposed  to  be  the  torrent  Escol.  The  village  Beeres- 
nait  was  on  the  traveller's  right  hand,  and  before  him 
Bedigga  and  Dia,  from  which  he  turned  to  the  left, 
to  encamp  close  to  the  modern  village  of  Barbara. 
The  next  morning,  while  the  caravan  filed  along  the 
beautiful  and  well-wooded  valley  to  Ashdod  and 
Yabne,  the  party  ascended  the  hill,  and  passing 
through  Barbara,  turned  off  towards  the  sea  for  the 
ruins  of  Askelon  (pronounced  Ascalaan),  which  lie 
about  an  hour's  distance  from  the  road  to  Ashdod.* 
It  was  the  month  of  April.  Olive-trees  occupied  the 


*  Captains  Irby  and  Mangles  took  the  more  direct  route  to 
Ashdod.  At  four  A.M.  they  left  Gaza.  The  road  for  two  hours 
lay  through  beautiful  groves  of  olive,  and  then  entered  on  an 
open  country,  partly  cultivated.  The  travellers  left  some  vil- 
lages on  either  side,  and  passed  the  torrent  Escol,  then  dry,  over 
a  bridge  of  two  high  arches.  About  noon,  they  had  on  their  left 
Mnjudal,  described  as  a  large  village  with  a  mosque,  situated  in  a 
valley,  surrounded  with  olive  groves.  At  three  P.M.  they  arrived 
at  Ashdod.  The  distance  from  Gaza  to  Ashdod,  according  to  their 
statement,  would  seem  to  be  eleven  hours,  or  about  thirty-three 
miles;  but  a  deduction  is  probably  to  be  made  for  halts,  of  which 
no  notice  is  taken  in  the  narrative. 


THE   HOLY  LAND.  49 

sandy  height  on  the  one  hand,  and  fine  crops  of 
wheat  and  barley  were  seen  on  the  other.  Arab  tents 
were  ranged  along  the  edge  of  the  hills,  and  Arab 
sheikhs  were  busily  employed  among  their  flocks  in 
the  plain.  Crossing  the  sandy  ridge,  the  road  descends 
into  a  well-cultivated  plain,  at  the  village  called  Naide ; 
and  then  climbs  an  eminence,  on  which  are  the  re- 
mains of  an  edifice  with  granite  columns,  like  that  at 
Rafia.  From  this  point  the  ruined  walls  of  Askelon 
are  seen  to  advantage.  After  crossing  a  small  stream 
in  the  intervening  valley,  the  travellers  arrived  at 
their  base.  Their  present  appearance  is  thus  described 
by  the  very  intelligent  traveller  whose  track  we  have 
been  pursuing. 

"  The  position  of  Askelon  is  strong :  the  walls  are 
built  on  the  top  of  a  ridge  of  rock  that  winds  round 
the  town  in  a  semicircular  direction,  and  terminates 
at  each  end  in  the  sea.  The  foundations  remain  all 
the  way  round.  The  walls  are  of  great  thickness, 
and,  in  some  places,  of  considerable  height,  and 
flanked  with  towers  at  different  distances.  Patches 
of  the  wall  preserve  their  original  elevation  ;  but, 
in  general,  it  is  ruined  throughout,  and  the  materials 
lie  scattered  around  the  foundation,  or  rolled  down 
the  hill  on  either  side.  The  ground  falls  within  the 
walls  in  the  same  manner  that  it  does  without :  the 
town  was  situated  in  the  hollow,  so  that  no  part  of 
it  could  be  seen  from  the  outside  of  the  walls.  Nume- 
rous ruined  houses  still  remain,  with  small  gardens 
interspersed  among  them.  We  passed  on  through  the 
centre  of  the  ruins,  and  about  the  middle  of  them 
came  to  a  ruined  temple  or  theatre,  as  it  has  been 
supposed,  part  of  which  had  lately  been  cleared  out 
by  the  exertions  of  Lady  Hester  Stanhope.  A  few 
columns  of  grey  granite,  and  one  of  red,  with  au 


50  PALESTINE;  OR, 

unusually  large  proportion  of  feldspar,  and  some  small 
portions  of  the  walls,  are  all  that  were  then  visible  of 
this  once  extensive  edifice.  In  the  highest  part  of  the 
town  we  found  the  remains  of  a  Christian  convent, 
close  upon  the  sea,  with  a  well  of  excellent  water 
beside  it.  The  sea  beats  strongly  against  the  bank  on 
which  the  convent  stands  ;  and  six  prostrate  columns 
of  grey  granite,  which  we  saw  half  covered  with  the 
waves,  attest  the  effects  of  its  encroachments.  There 
is  no  bay  nor  any  shelter  for  shipping ;  but  a  small 
harbour,  advancing  a  little  way  into  the  town  towards 
its  eastern  extremity,  seems  to  have  been  formed  for 
the  accommodation  of  such  small  craft  as  was  used 
in  the  better  days  of  the  city. 

"  Askelon  was  one  of  the  proudest  satrapies  of  the 
lords  of  the  Philistines  ;  now  there  is  not  an  inhabit- 
ant within  its  walls ;  and  the  prophecy  of  Zechariah 
is  fulfilled,  '  The  king  shall  perish  from  Gaza,  and 
Askelon  shall  not  be  inhabited.'  *  When  the  pro- 
phecy was  uttered,  both  cities  were  in  an  equally 
flourishing  condition  ;  and  nothing  but  the  prescience 
of  Heaven  could  pronounce  on  which  of  the  two,  and 
in  what  manner,  the  vial  of  his  wrath  should  thus  be 
poured  out.  Gaza  is  truly  without  a  king.  The 
lofty  towers  of  Askelon  lie  scattered  on  the  ground, 
and  the  ruins  within  its  walls  do  not  shelter  a  human 
being.  How  is  the  wrath  of  man  made  to  praise  his 
Creator  !  Hath  he  said,  and  shall  he  not  do  it  ?  The 
oracle  was  delivered  by  the  mouth  of  the  prophet 
more  than  five  hundred  years  before  the  Christian  era, 
and  we  behold  its  accomplishment  eighteen  hundred 
years  after  that  event. 

"  Askelon  was  the  birth-place  of  Herod  the  Great, 
and  several  eminent  Mussulmans. 

*  Zcch.  ix.  6.    See  also  Zeph.  ii.  4. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  51 

"  We  now  pursued  our  way  across  the  hill,  which 
was  covered  with  a  plentiful  mixture  of  grass  and 
sand,  and  arrived  at  the  village  of  Misdal  (or  Mezdel), 
situated  in  a  beautiful  plain,  and  surrounded  with 
small  gardens,  hedged  with  the  Indian  fig-tree.  An 
hour  and  a  half  from  Askelon,  we  reached  the  village 
Hamami.  Its  environs  are  cultivated,  and  the  crops 
abundant,  but  quite  overgrown  with  thistles,  exten- 
sive plantations  of  which  line  the  road  on  each  side. 
At  present,  although  our  prospect  is  extensive,  there 
is  not  a  tree  in  sight ;  yet  the  growth  of  spring 
clothes  the  undulating  fields,  and  every  thing  is  fresh 
and  beautiful.*  It  is  not  like  the  land  of  Egypt,  but 
it  is  a  thousand  times  more  interesting.  Having 
passed  a  large  tumulus  on  the  top  of  an  adjoining  hill, 
the  history  of  which  we  could  not  learn,  we  came  in 
sight  of  Ashdod  (Azotus),  pronounced  in  the  country 
Shdood.  In  about  half  an  hour  we  crossed  a  broad 
stone  bridge,  erected  over  the  bed  of  a  river  :  there 
was  stagnant  water  in  several  places.  Next  we  came 
to  the  ruined  village  of  Tookrair,  situated  on  the  top 
of  a  hill  on  the  left,  which  seems  to  have  been  a  place 
of  considerable  consequence,  probably  Ekron.-^  Soon 
after,  we  arrived  at  Ashdod,  passed  the  town  and  the 
well,  with  a  small  contiguous  mosque  on  the  road- 
side, turned  into  a  pleasant  grassy  field,  and  pitched 
our  tents  for  the  night. 

"  The  ground  around  Ashdod  is  beautifully  undu- 
lating, the  pasture  luxuriant,  but  not  half  stocked 

*  Sir  F.  Henniker  describes  the  vale  of  Askelon  as  enamelled 
with  flowers:  "  among  others,"  he  says,  "  our  garden  pink 
assumes  the  place  of  daisies." 

t  Ekrnn  was  near  the  sea,  between  Ashdod  and  Jamnia.  It  was 
micr  a  powerful  city.  Its  territory  was  the  border  of  the  land  of 
Jiiilali.  Sec  Joshua,  xv.  11. 


52  PALESTINE;  OK, 

with  cattle.  The  site  of  the  town  is  on  the  summit 
of  a  grassy  hill ;  and,  if  we  are  to  believe  historians, 
was  anciently  as  strong  as  it  was  beautiful.  Hero- 
dotus states,  that  Psammetichus,  king  of  Egypt,  spent 
twenty-nine  years  in  besieging  the  city ;  in  the  end 
he  was  successful ;  an  event  which  is  stated  to  have 
occurred  1 124  years  B.  C.,  about  fifty  years  before  the 
reign  of  David  in  Hebron.  This  was  another  of  the 
five  satrapies  of  the  Philistines  ;  who,  when  they  had 
taken  the  Ark  of  God  from  the  Israelites,  brought 
it  to  Ashdod,  and  carried  it  into  the  house  of  Dagon 
their  god.  We  neither  saw  nor  heard  of  any  ruins 
here.  Scarcely  any  of  the  inhabitants  came  near  us. 
They  did  not  appear  to  be  so  sociable  or  so  kind  to 
strangers  as  their  neighbours  at  Barbara.  Every 
thing  here  was  dearer  than  in  Egypt :  a  sheep  cost 
eight  shillings  and  sixpence,  —  the  dearest  in  Egypt 
was  seven  shillings,  and  generally  but  five  shillings. 
They  charged  us  four  piastres  (alxmt  two  shillings  and 
sixpence)  for  the  night's  grazing  of  our  camels  and 
asses,  which,  in  other  places,  we  had  with  a  free? 
hearty  welcome.  The  blood  of  the  plundering  Philis- 
tines is  still  in  the  land." 

Gath,  the  fifth  of  the  Philistine  cities,  which  was  a 
place  of  strength  in  the  time  of  the  prophets  Amos 
and  Micah,  (B.C.  787 — 750,)  is  placed  by  Jerome  on 
the  road  between  Eleutheropolis  and  Gaza.  It  appears 
to  have  been  the  extreme  boundary  of  the  Philistine 
territory  in  one  direction,  as  Ekron  was  on  the  other : 
hence  the  expression,  (1  Sam.  vii.  14.)  "  from  Ekron 
even  unto  Gath,"  which  has  led  to  its  being  con- 
sidered as  the  most  southern  city,  and  Ekron  the  most 
northern.  The  phrase  may  be  more  probably  inter- 
preted as  intimating,  that  Gath  was  the  south-eastern 
border,  as  Ekron  was  the  north-eastern  ;  but  it  is  not 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  53 

clear  that  the  latter  was  more  northward  than  Ash- 
dod,  or  the  former  farther  south  than  Gaza.  Oath 
might  lay  nearer  to  Arabia ;  and  it  seems  to  have 
become  finally  annexed  to  Judea  before  the  time  of 
the  prophet  Zephaniah,  since  no  mention  is  made  of 
it  in  the  denunciations  against  Gaza,  Ascalon,  Ash- 
dod,  and  Ekron,  "  the  inhabitants  of  the  sea-coast 
and  the  land  of  the  Philistines."  (Zeph.  ii.  4,  5.) 

From  Ashdod  to  Jaffa  is  four  hours'  journey,  or 
about  twelve  miles.  The  route  lies  over  an  undu- 
lating surface  ;  the  hills  are  high  and  partially  culti- 
vated, with  abundance  of  thistles.  The  beautiful 
gardens  of  Jaffa  commence  on  each  side  of  the  road,  at 
the  lowest  part  of  the  plain,  a  considerable  distance 
from  the  town.  The  only  places  mentioned  by  Dr. 
Richardson  as  lying  between  Ashdod  and  Jaffa,  are 
the  Villages  Bededjen,  (two  hours  from  Ashdod,)  and 
Djedou.  Captains  Irby  and  Mangles  appear  to  have 
taken  a  different  and  less  direct  route.  They  crossed 
the  Nahr  (or  river)  El  Rubin,  close  to  the  ruins  of  a 
Roman  bridge,  one  great  arch  of  which,  and  part  of 
another,  still  remain,  overgrown  with  bushes  and 
weeds.  The  river  above  the  bridge  was  nearly  dry, 
(Oct.  11,)  and  filled  with  wild  flowers  .and  rushes. 
Below  it  they  noticed  "  a  handsome  winding  sheet  of 
water,  the  banks  of  which  were  likewise  covered  with 
various  water-flowers,  and  many  black  water-fowl 
were  swimming  on  its  surface  :  the  water  is  bad,  but 
not  salt.  On  the  opposite  side  of  this  river,  on  a  small 
eminence,  is  Sheikh  Rubin's  tomb,  surrounded  by  a 
square  wall,  with  some  trees  inclosed.  There  are  in 
Syria  and  Egypt  numbers  of  these  tombs,  which  the 
Arabs  erect  to  the  memory  of  any  man  who,  they 
think,  hiis  led  a  holy  life ;  giving  the  title  of  sheikh, 
not  only  to  their  chiefs,  but  also  to  their  saints.  These 


54  PALESTINE;  OR, 

tombs  are  generally  placed  in  some  conspicuous  spot, 
frequently  on  the  top  of  some  mount.  The  sepulchre 
consists  of  a  small  apartment,  with  a  cupola  over  it, 
whitewashed  externally  (see  Matt,  xxiii.  27) :  within 
are  deposited  a  mat  and  a  jar  of  water,  for  the  ablu- 
tion of  such  as  retire  thither  for  devotion.  Sheikh 
Rubin,  who  lived  many  years  ago,  appears  to  have 
been  much  respected,  and  the  people  to  this  day  go  to 
pay  vows  at  his  shrine :  they  also  bring  provisions, 
and  make  festivals  there.  The  river,  no  doubt,  re- 
ceives its  appellation  from  this  sheikh."  * 

The  travellers  passed,  on  their  right,  Yabne,  the 
ancient  Jabneh,  or  Jamnia,  situated  on  a  small  emi- 
nence :  it  is  still  a  considerable  village.  It  lies  about 
three  hours'  distance  from  Ashdod,  and  is  reckoned 
to  be  240  furlongs  from  Jerusalem.  This  was  another 
of  the  Philistine  cities,  and  was  taken  by  Uzziah, 
Bang  of  Judah.  (See  2  Chron.  xxvi.  6.) 

The  route  from  Gaza,  taken  by  AH  Bey,  was  much 
the  same :  it  lay  first  E.  N.  E. ;  then  N.  E.  and  N. 
through  Ashdod ;  then  N.  N.  E.  and  N.  E.,  passing 
by  Yabne,  and  over  some  wooded  hills  ;  and  at  length 
turned  N.W.  to  Jaffa.  The  distance  cannot  be  much 
less  than  forty  miles.  All  the  villages  in  this  route 
are,  according  to  this  traveller,  situated  upon  heights ; 
the  houses  are  extremely  low,  covered  with  thatch, 
and  surrounded  with  plantations  and  gardens.  The 
hills  were  covered  (it  was  in  the  month  of  July)  with 
olive-trees,  and  plantations  of  tobacco  in  full  blossom. 
"  All  the  country  of  Palestine,"  he  says,  "  which  I 
saw  from  Khanyounes  to  Jaffa,  is  beautiful.  It  is 
composed  of  undulating  hills,  of  a  rich  soil  similar  to 

»  Travels  in  Egypt,  <fcc.  By  the  Hon.  C.  L.  Irby  and  James 
Mangles.  8vo.  pp.  183,  4. 


THE   HOLY    LAND.  55 

the  slime  of  the  Nile,  and  is  covered  with  the  richest 
and  finest  vegetation.  But  there  is  not  a  single  river 
in  all  the  district ;  there  is  not  even  a  spring.  All  the 
torrents  I  crossed  were  dry,  and  the  inhabitants  have 
no  other  water  to  drink  than  that  which  they  collect 
in  the  rainy  season,  nor  any  other  means  of  irrigation 
than  rain -water,  and  that  of  the  wells,  which  is  in- 
deed good."* 

ROUTE  FROM  JAFFA  TO  JERUSALEM. 

FROM  Jaffa  to  Ramla  is  a  journey  of  three  hours, — 
about  nine  miles.  The  road  lies  over  an  undulating 
surface,  partially  cultivated  and  thinly  inhabited,  of  a 
wilder  and  less  inviting  character  than  the  country  of 
the  Philistines.  A  good  deal  of  wood  is  to  be  seen 
near  Jaffa ;  but  afterwards,  the  road  is  bare,  except 
that  olive-trees  cover  some  of  the  hills.  The  neigh- 
bourhood of  Ramla,  however,  is  adorned  with  many 
trees,  among  which  the  palm  is  conspicuous. 

Ramla,  or  Rameli,  the  ancient  Rama  (of  Ephraim), 
and  supposed  to  be  the  Arimathea  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, is,  by  Phocas,  computed  to  be  37  miles  from 
Jerusalem :  -|-  it  is  situated  in  a  rich  plain,  and  con- 
tains about  2000  families.  Here  is  a  Latin  convent, 
the  whole  brotherhood  of  which  are  Spaniards,  said  to 
have  been  founded  by  Philip  the  Good,  duke  of  Bur- 
gundy ;  it  is  the  universal  home  of  Christian  travel- 
lers in  this  quarter.  The  Greeks  and  Armenians 
have  also  convents  here.  There  were  two  churches, 
which  are  now  converted  into  mosques.  The  great 

•  Travels  of  AH  Bey,  vol.  ii.  p.  2()9. 

t  If  this  be  correct,  Jaffa  cannot  be  less  than  forty-six  or  forty- 
seven  miles  from  Jerusalem ;  though  Quaresmius,  on  the  authority 
of  Jerome,  makes  it  only  forty. 

t  Travels  of  All  Bey,  p.  211. 


56-  PALESTINE;  on, 

mosque  was  a  Greek  church :  the  tower  is  very  lofty, 
and  in  good  preservation.  Near  it  is  a  large  building, 
supported  by  pillars,  supposed  to  be  the  remains  of 
a  monastery.  In  one  of  the  mosques  is  the  tomb  of 
Aayoub  Bey,  a  Mamelouk,  who  fled  from  Egypt  on 
the  arrival  of  the  French,  and  died  here :  it  is  of 
beautiful  white  marble,  with  bas-reliefs,  and  gilt  in- 
scriptions. Near  the  Latin  burial-place  is  a  large 
tank,  or  cistern,  under  ground,  which  has  always 
plenty  of  good  water  in  it.  "  The  root  of  the  tama- 
risk-tree growing  into  it,"  Pococke  says,  "  the  waters 
are  esteemed  good  for  the  dropsy."  There  are,  he 
tells  us,  great  ruins  of  houses  in  this  place  ;  so  that  it 
seems  formerly  to  have  been  a  much  more  considerable 
town  than  it  is  at  present,  and  it  probably  flourished 
during  the  time  of  the  Crusades.  On  a  high  hill  to 
the  west  of  the  town,  stands  a  venerable  ruin,  called 
the  Tower  of  the  Martyrs,  with  some  stately  syca- 
mores near  it,  overlooking  the  plain.  The  bodies  of 
the  martyrs  of  Sebaste,  in  Armenia,  are  said  to  have 
been  deposited  at  Ramla ;  and  from  them,  probably, 
the  tower  receives  its  name. 

About  a  league  to  the  E.  N.  E.  in  this  plain  is 
Lydda,  still  called  Loudd,  where  St.  Peter  cured 
./Eneas  of  the  palsy.  It  was  destroyed  by  Cestius  in 
the  beginning  of  the  Jewish  war,  and?  when  rebuilt, 
was  called  Diospolis.  It  is  now  a  poor  village;  but  the 
stones  to  be  seen  in  the  modern  buildings,  shew  that 
it  has  been  a  place  of  some  consequence.  Here  are 
the  remains  of  a  very  fine  church,  built  of  hewn  stone, 
and  of  excellent  masonry.  It  is  attributed  by  some 
writers  to  the  emperor  Justinian,  by  others  to  a  king 
of  England ;  but  Pococke  concludes  that  it  was  pro- 
bably repaired  by  Richard  Coeur  de  Lion,  the  archi- 
tecture being  decidedly  of  higher  antiquity.  The 


THE   HOLY    LAND.  57 

Greeks  hold  (or  then  held)  the  eastern  part  of  the 
ruined  church  ;  which  is  uncovered,  except  that  over 
the  high  altar  there  remains  a  pointed  arch,  which, 
perhaps,  was  built  when  the  church  was  repaired. 
The  Turks  have  turned  the  west  end  into  a  mosque  ; 
having,  says  Pococke,  a  great  veneration  for  St.  George, 
who,  according  to  the  legend  of  the  place,  suffered 
here.  All  this  country  is  described  by  the  learned 
traveller  as  very  rich  soil,  throwing  up  a  great  quan- 
tity of  herbage ;  among  which  he  specifies  chardons, 
rue,  fennel,  and  the  striped  thistle,  "  probably  on  this 
account  called  the  holy  thistle."  A  great  variety  of 
anemonies,  he  was  told,  grow  in  the  neighbourhood. 
"  I  saw  likewise,"  he  adds,  "  many  tulips  growing 
wild  in  the  fields  (in  March)  ;  and  any  one  who  con- 
siders how  beautiful  those  flowers  are  to  the  eye, 
would  be  apt  to  conjecture  that  these  are  the  lilies  to 
which  Solomon,  in  all  his  glory,  was  not  to  be  com- 
pared." The  lily  referred  to  by  our  Lord,  is,  however, 
supposed  by  some  critics  to  have  rather  been  the 
Amaryllis  lutea,  or  autumnal  Narcissus,  which  is 
found  in  profusion  in  the  countries  bordering  on  the 
Levant,  clothing  the  fields  in  autumn  with  a  vivid 
golden  brilliancy. 

Between  Rama  and  Jeremiah,  about  twelve  miles 
from  Jerusalem,  lies  the  Arab  village  of  Bethoor, 
where  Dr.  Clarke  was  by  accident  compelled  to  pass 
a  night.  It  is  noticed  by  no  other  traveller ;  and 
yet,  there  is  the  highest  probability  that  this  is  the 
Beth-horon  of  the  Scriptures,  which  Josephus  places 
in  this  direction.  St.  Jerome  associates  it  with  Rama, 
in  the  remark  that  they  were  then,  together  with 
other  noble  cities  built  by  Solomon,  only  poor  villages. 
Beth-horon  stood  on  the  confines  of  Ephrain  and 
Benjamin  ;  which,  according  to  the  learned  traveller. 


58  PALESTINE;  OR, 

exactly  answers  to  the  situation  of  Bethoor.  He  sup- 
poses it,  from  its  situation  on  a  hill,  to  be  Beth-boron 
the  upper,  (the  Beth-horon  superior  of  Eusebius,)  of 
which  frequent  notice  occurs  in  the  apocryphal 
writings.  Josephus  mentions  that  Cestius,  the  Ro- 
man general,  marched  upon  Jerusalem  by  way  of 
Lydda  and  Beth-horon.* 

In  this  neighbourhood  the  Arabs  are  very  trouble- 
some :  sometimes  they  have  been  known  to  rob  the 
inhabitants  of  Ramla  in  their  very  gardens.  In  Po- 
cocke's  time,  it  was  considered  as  one  of  the  most 
dangerous  roads  in  Turkey. -j-  For  some  miles  the 
road  is  over  a  level  plain,  the  ground  somewhat 
marshy:  it  then  rises  as  you  approach  the  rocky 
scenery  ;  and  just  before  the  road  enters  the  hills,  at 
a  short  distance,  is  the  place  called  Ladroun  by  the 
Franks,  which  admits  of  a  various  interpretation. 
Pococke,  who  describes  it  as  a  large  ruined  building 
over  a  precipice,  supposes  it  to  be  "  what  is  commonly 
called  the  castle  of  the  good  thief  ,  where  they  say  he  was 
born  and  lived."  In  other  words,  the  monks,  who 
must  needs  assign  a  local  habitation  for  every  per- 
sonage spoken  of  in  the  New  Testament,  have  pitched 
upon  this  very  suitable  spot  as  the  imaginary  resi- 

*  See  1  Mace.  iii.  16;  vii.  39;  ix.  50.  Josh.  x.  10, 11.  1  Chron. 
vii.  24.  Joseph.  Jewish  Wars,  lib.  ii.  cap.  23. 

t  The  whole  distance  from  Jerusalem  to  Jaffa,  according  to  the 
usual  time  of  travelling,  might  be  performed  in  about  fifteen  or 
sixteen  hours:  "but  owing,"  says  Dr.  Clarke,  "  to  rugged  and 
pathless  rocks,  over  which  the  traveller  must  pass,  it  is  impossible 
to  perform  it  in  less  than  a  day  and  a  half.  When  it  is  considered 
that  this  has  always  been  the  principal  route  of  pilgrims,  and  that 
during  the  Crusades  it  was  much  frequented,  it  is  singular  that  no 
attempt  was  ever  made  to  facilitate  the  approach  to  the  Holy  City. 
The  wildest  passes  of  the  Apennines  are  not  less  open  to  travel- 
lers. No  part  of  the  country  is  so  much  infested  by  predatory 
Arabs." — Travels,  vol.  iv.  8vo.  chap.  ix.  p.  420. 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  59 

dcnce  of  the  penitent  malefactor,  one  of  those  who 
was  crucified  with  our  Lord ;  and  the  building  may 
have  received  its  name  from  him.  Dr.  Richardson, 
however,  interprets  it,  the  den  of  thieves ;  and  the 
encounter  which  he  had  with  its  inhabitants  suffi- 
ciently justified  the  appellation.  The  party  were  pro- 
ceeding merrily  along  a  scarcely-perceptible  track  on 
the  turf,  Avhen  a  haggard-looking  Arab,  springing 
across  the  field,  seized  Lord  Corry's  mule  by  the 
bridle,  and  refused  to  let  him  proceed.  He  happened 
to  be  in  advance  of  the  party.  The  affair  might  have 
had  an  unpleasant  issue,  but  one  of  the  muleteers 
coming  up,  explained  to  the  Arab  that  they  were 
travelling  under  the  protection  of  the  governor  of 
Jaffa,  and  that  the  brother  of  a  distinguished  chieftain 
was  their  conductor.  "  Instantly  at  the  sound,  (says 
Dr.  R.,)  he  dropped  the  bridle,  and  walked  off,  gnash- 
ing his  whetted  teeth  over  the  prey  that  had  just  been 
snatched  from  his  jaws,  having  taken  us  for  unpro- 
tected pilgrims,  whom  it  was  his  intention  to  insult, 
plunder,  and  detain.  How  blank  and  dastard  he 
looked,  the  ragged  red-haired  knave,  as  he  slunk 
across  the  field  to  his  thievish  den,  that  lay  in  the 
shape  of  a  farm  -house,  a  little  off  the  road,"  —  the 
identical  Ladron.* 

The  aspect  of  this  part  of  the  country  is  bleak,  the 
trees  are  few  and  small, -|-  the  soil  hard,  and  of  a  bad 
quality ;  mountains  of  naked  limestone.  The  prospect 
among  the  hills  is  described  by  Dr.  Clarke,  as  resem- 
bling the  worst  parts  of  the  Apennines.  We  shall 
avail  ourselves  of  the  picturesque  description  given  by 

*  Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  220. 

t  Chateaubriand  particularises  the  dwarf  oak,  the  box-tree,  thf 
rose-laurel,  and  the  olive. 


60  PALESTINE;  OR, 

Dr.  Richardson  of  the  road  from  this  point  to  Jeru- 
salem. 

"  In  about  two  hours  and  a  half  from  the  time 
that  we  lef .  Ramla,  we  entered  the  mountain  scenery, 
the  hill  country  of  Judea.  For  some  time  before  we 
reached  the  mountains,  we  kept  looking  up  at  their 
dusky  sides,  as  they  rose  in  towering  grandeur  to  the 
height  of  about  a  thousand  or  fifteen  hundred  feet 
above  our  heads,  covered  with  sun-burnt  grass  ;  here 
and  there  disclosing  strips  of  the  bare  horizontal  rock, 
and  diversified  with  a  few  bushy  trees  that  stood  at 
very  unfriendly  and  forlorn  distances  from  each  other. 
Having  entered  the  mountain  defiles,  we  moved  along 
a  deep  and  most  uncomfortable  track,  covered  with 
big  sharp  stones,  sometimes  down  a  steep  and  almost 
precipitous  descent,  which  obliged  us  to  alight  and 
lead  our  mules  ;  at  other  times  along  the  dry  stony 
bed  of  a  winter  torrent,  which  we  had  to  cross  and 
recross  half  a  dozen  times  in  the  course  of  a  hundred 
yards :  at  other  times  we  climbed  a  heavy  and  length- 
ened ascent,  with  only  a  few  shrubs  between  us  and 
the  edge  of  the  precipice.  Thus  we  continued  ascend- 
ing and  descending,  one  while  round  the  projecting 
base  of  the  mountain,  another  while  winding  in  the 
hollow  curve  formed  by  the  meeting  of  their  circular 
edges,  till  about  one  o'clock,  when  we  stopt  to  refresh 
the  animals,  having  arrived  at  a  well  of  good  water 
beside  a  ruined  edifice,  that  seemed  to  have  been 
erected  as  a  military  station  to  guard  the  pass.  Since 
entering  the  mountain  scenery  we  travelled  all  in  a 
body ;  the  riders  not  separating  from  the  beasts  of 
burden  for  fear  of  any  unexpected  attack,  or  any 
lurching  cur  among  our  own  numbers  setting  off  with 
a  straggler,  which  the  nature  of  the  ground  would 


THE  HOLY  LAND. 

s(M)ii  enable  him  to  conceal,  and  set  every  search  at 
defiance. 

"  Here  we  found  the  advantage  of  our  gallant 
escort  from  the  governor  of  Yaffa ;  for  scarcely  had 
we  alighted  from  our  mules  to  repose  ourselves  on  the 
scattered  stones  of  the  ruin,  when  a  comfortable  col- 
lation was  brought  us  by  a  peasant  from  a  neigh- 
bouring village,  the  master  of  which  had  a  great 
friendship  for  the  brother  of  Abougosh.  Whence  he 
came,  or  whither  he  went,  we  could  not  tell ;  there 
was  no  house  or  village  in  sight ;  but  we  profited  by 
his  hospitality,  and  resumed  our  march  with  redoubled 
vigour. 

"  The  road  continued  nearly  the  same  with  that 
already  described.  The  hills,  from  the  commence- 
ment of  the  mountain  scenery,  are  all  of  a  round 
handsome  shape,  meeting  in  the  base  and  separated 
at  the  tops,  not  in  peaks  or  pointed  acuminations,  but 
like  the  gradual  retiring  of  two  round  balls,  placed  in 
juxta-position.  Their  sides  are  partially  covered  with 
earth,  which  nourishes  a  feeble  sprinkling  of  withered 
grass,  with  here  and  there  a  dwarf  tree  or  solitary 
shrub.  They  are  not  susceptible  of  cultivation,  ex- 
cept on  the  very  summit,  where  we  saw  the  plough 
going  in  several  places.  They  might  be  terraced,  but 
there  are  no  traces  of  their  ever  having  been  so.  The 
rock  crops  out  in  many  places,  but  never  in  preci- 
pitous cliffs  ;  the  strata  are  horizontal,  and  in  many 
places  have  exactly  the  appearance  of  the  stone  courses 
in  a  b'uilding.  The  features  of  the  whole  scenery 
brought  strongly  to  my  recollection  the  ride  from 
Sanquhar  to  Lead-hills,  in  Scotland  ;  and  to  those  who 
have  visited  this  interesting  part  of  my  native  country, 
I  can  assure  them,  the  comparison  gives  a  favourable 
representation  of  the  hills  of  Judea.  But  there  art 

PART   I.  E 


62  PALESTINE;  OK, 

two  remarkable  points  of  difference,  which  I  must  not 
pass  unnoticed  :  in  the  northern  scenery,  the  traveller 
passes  over  an  excellent  road,  and  travels  among  an 
honest  and  industrious  population,  where  the  con- 
versation of  the  commonest  people  will  often  delight 
and  surprise  the  man  of  letters.  But  among  the  hills 
of  Palestine,  the  road  is  almost  impassable,  and  the 
traveller  finds  himself  among  a  set  of  infamous  and 
ignorant  thieves,  who  would  cut  his  throat  for  a 
farthing,  and  rob  him  of  his  property  for  the  mere 
pleasure  of  doing  it. 

"  At  half-past  three  o'clock  we  reached  the  village 
of  Karialoonah,  the  residence  of  Ibrahim  Abougosh, 
the  brother  of  our  conductor,  the  chief  of  his  tribe, 
the  prince  of  the  Arabs,  and  a  plunderer  of  pilgrims. 
However,  we  had  nothing  to  fear  ;  we  were  conducted 
by  his  brother,  and  had,  moreover,  a  letter  of  intro- 
duction from  the  Lady  Hester  Stanhope.  The  worthy 
veteran  appeared  to  have  been  apprized  of  our  coming, 
for  immediately  on  our  arrival  he  presented  himself  to 
welcome  us.  He  was  habited  after  the  fashion  of  his 
country,  with  a  tobacco-pipe  in  his  hand,  and  a  fine 
India  shawl,  for  a  turban,  on  his  head  ;  the  other 
parts  of  his  dress  were  of  unbleached  cotton  cloth, 
plain  and  homely,  like  that  of  the  Bedoweens.  In 
stature  he  is  rather  under  the  middling  size,  but  of  a 
robust  and  vigorous  make,  admirably  formed  for  sup- 
porting fatigue  ;  his  complexion  is  swarthy,  his  features 
regular  and  animated,  with  a  fine  dark  eye,  placid 
and  moist  as  a  drop  of  dew.  You  would  say  that  this 
§nan  is  formed  to  make  love  and  captivate  the  hearts 
of  his  species  ;  better  fitted  for  the  bower  than  the 
field,  more  a  Paris  than  a  Hector,  a  servant  of  Venus 
than  a  votary  of  Mars.  This  individual  possessed  his 
own  mind,  and  modelled  his  exterior  by  an  unusual 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  63 

calmness  of  manner;  when  he  spoke,  the  man  was 
rarely  revealed  in  his  countenance ;  a  secret  purpose 
lurked  in  the  bottom  of  his  eye,  that  shewed  his  heart 
had  other  game  than  what  was  started  by  his  tongue. 
We  looked,  admired,  and  looked  again.  Is  this  the 
man  that  rules  the  Arabs,  of  whom  even  the  Turkish 
governors  are  afraid  ? 

"  There  was  time  enough  for  us  to  have  gone  to 
Jerusalem,  but  here  we  had  determined  to  stay,  and 
had  turned  off  the  road  into  a  dry  stony  field  on  the 
left,  to  take  up  our  station,  and  pitch  our  tents  for  the 
night,  when  the  chieftain  preferred  a  pressing  request 
to  the  noble  traveller,  that  we  should  save  ourselves 
that  trouble,  and  make  his  house  our  home,  with  such 
accommodation  as  he  could  afford.  The  request  was 
made  in  such  an  hospitable  manner,  and  so  ardently 
seconded  by  his  brother,  that  it  was  impossible  to 
refuse  it ;  and  it  would  have  been  imprudent,  had  we 
been  so  inclined. 

"  Having  accepted  the  invitation,  we  followed  our 
host  across  the  road  to  his  house  on  the  other  side  of 
the  valley.  Orders  were  immediately  given  to  prepare 
dinner  for  the  party,  and  we  walked  with  him  about 
the  premises  till  it  was  ready.  The  residence  of  this 
Arab  chief  is  about  two  hours  and  a  half  distant  from 
Jerusalem ;  it  is  pleasantly  situated  on  the  east  side 
of  the  valley,  and  resembles  very  much  the  mansion 
and  offices  of  a  wealthy  farmer  in  this  country,  having 
much  accommodation  for  men,  horses,  and  cattle, 
without  regard  to  taste  or  appearance.  Everything 
about  it  is  more  useful  than  ornamental :  the  ground 
around  is  terraced  and  of  a  good  quality,  little  culti- 
vated, but  abundantly  shewing  its  fertility  in  long 
grass,  olive,  sycamore,  and  fig  trees,  which  are  in 
greater  numbers  on  the  other  j»ide  of  the  valley  than 


64  PALESTINE;  OR, 

around  the  house.  On  the  top  of  a  high  mountain  to 
the  south  stands  Modin,  still  called  by  the  same  name, 
and  still  a  place  of  strength  ;  it  is  in  the  territory  of 
Abougosh,  and  known  as  the  site  of  the  city  and  tombs 
of  the  illustrious  and  patriotic  Maccabees.  Here  Simon 
of  that  family  set  up  seven  pyramids,  one  against 
another,  for  his  father,  his  mother,  his  four  brethren, 
and  himself.  Much  building  and  ruin  still  remain 
about  the  place. 

"  There  is  little  to  be  seen,  however,  as  to  beauty 
or  repair,  about  the  mansion  of  an  Arab  chief.  The 
sun  sinks  beneath  the  horizon,  and  we  enter  his  sub- 
stantial dwelling.  The  prince  himself  led  the  way  up 
one  pair  of  stairs,  followed  by  the  Earl  and  Countess 
of  Belmore,  and  the  gentlemen  of  their  suite.  He 
conducted  us  into  his  principal  room,  which  was  fitted 
up  in  the  usual  Eastern  style.  A  low  portion,  cut  off 
by  a  rail  across  the  room,  for  the  servants  or  visitors 
of  inferior  consideration  to  stand  without,  and  an  ele- 
vated and  a  larger  portion  within,  provided  with  a  low 
sofa  round  the  sides  on  the  floor,  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  those  visitors  whom  the  chief  delighted  to  ho- 
nour. One  small  window  illuminated  the  apartment ; 
but  it  was  now  beginning  to  get  dark,  and  the  light 
of  the  sun  was  succeeded  by  that  of  a  solitary  candle, 
which  only  served  to  make  darkness  a  little  more  visi- 
ble than  the  faint  rays  of  twilight. 

i;  On  the  appearance  of  dinner,  the  farthing  candle 
was  exchanged  for  one  of  larger  dimensions,  set  upon 
the  floor  ;  the  dinner  was  also  set  down  on  the  floor  at 
our  feet,  and  we  hitched  down  from  the  edge  of  the 
sofa  to  reach  it.  It  consisted  of  a  great  profusion  of 
rice,  boiled  fowl,  different  kinds  of  boiled  and  minced 
meat  and  rice  mixed  together,  forming  a  kind  of 
sausage,  enclosed  in  the  skin  of  a  gourd,  resembling 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  65 

a  cucumber,  and  several  other  trifling  articles  ;  all  of 
which  were  so  admirably  seasoned,  that  having  tasted 
of  one,  we  felt  no  disposition  to  quit  it  for  another, 
and  when  we  had  done  so,  were  as  little  inclined  to 
return  or  to  change  it  for  a  third  or  a  fourth  :  yet 
most  of  us,  I  believe,  were  induced  to  try  a  little  of 
each  of  them,  and  became  such  proselytes  to  Arab 
cookery,  that  we  protested  in  good  earnest  we  should 
wish  to  dine  so  every  day  in  our  lives,  as  far  as  eating 
was  concerned,  though  neither  roast-beef  nor  plum- 
pudding  were  among  the  dishes.  Not  so  with  respect 
to  the  auxiliary  implements  of  feeding,  which  were 
rather  of  an  awkward  description,  though  ancient  as 
our  mouths,  and  all  of  us  had  them  in  our  finger  ends. 
Fork  and  knives  there  were  none,  and  only  one  spoon 
to  help  a  little  lebn  or  sour  milk  upon  the  rice.  When 
the  invitation  to  commence  the  attack  issued  from 
the  lips  of  our  landlord,  we  looked  at  each  other,  as 
much  as  to  say,  '  How  shall  we  proceed  ?'  The  good 
man  himself  sat  by,  and,  out  of  respect  for  his  guests, 
did  not  mean  to  partake  of  any  thing  till  they  were 
satisfied,  which  Lord  Belmore  perceiving,  imme- 
diately requested  that  he  would  set  us  the  example. 
Then  '  bismilla,'  in  the  name  of  the  Lord, — a  pretty 
general,  though  not  a  universal  signal  among  the 
Arabs  to  commence  the  act  of  manducation ;  —  he 
tucked  up  the  long  dangling  sleeves  of  his  shirt  as 
far  as  his  elbow,  and  thrust  his  washed  hand  into 
the  mountain  of  rice  that  smoked  before  him,  and 
having  taken  a  handful,  he  formed  it  into  an  oblong 
ball,  by  folding  his  fist ;  this  being  done,  he  put 
his  finger  and  thumb  behind  it,  thrust  it  into  his 
mouth,  and  down  his  throat  in  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye.  Then  he  tore  off  the  leg  of  a  fowl,  part  of  which 
immediately  followed  the  rice :  the  rest  was  returned 
E  2 


66  PALESTINE;  OR, 

into  the  pJate,  to  serve  the  next  comer  to  the  dish. 
Again  he  returned  to  the  rice,  arid  again  to  the  fowl 
or  the  beef ;  judiciously  alternating  layer  upon  layer, 
handing,  mouthing,  and  swallowing,  and  hospitably 
inviting  us  to  follow  his  example,  and  instructing  us 
how  to  ball  the  rice,  and  thrust  it  into  our  mouths. 
No  ceremony  or  city  civilization  here.  His  brother 
followed  at  a  distance,  and  did  not  begin  till  after  much 
intreaty ;  but,  once  engaged,  played  quite  as  good  a 
fist  as  Abougosh  himself.  Thus  we  all  went  on  eat- 
ing, talking,  laughing,  and  enjoying  ourselves,  till 
abundant  repletion  taught  us  to  desist ;  then  Al 
ham  de  lelahi,  glory  to  God,  we  are  satisfied,  and  a 
servant  comes  round  with  a  pitcher  full  of  water,  part 
of  which  he  pours  upon  our  hands  ;  we  wash,  and  it 
falls  into  the  basin  below  ;  then,  having  dried,  he  re- 
ceives the  towel,  and  goes  round  to  perform  the  same 
ceremony  to  the  next,  and  thus  makes  the  tour  of  the 
company." 

"  Next  morning,  we  left  our  beds  at  an  early  hour  ; 
but  the  earliest  of  the  party  was  preceded  by  Abou- 
gosh.* On  quitting  the  apartment,  and  going  to  the 
top  of  the  stair,  where  a  low  wall  between  the  two 
houses  furnishes  a  charming  prospect  of  the  valley 
below,  I  found  him  sitting  on  his  heel  in  the  shade, 
although  the  sun  had  scarcely  shone  on  his  abode. 
Ke  held  his  pipe  in  his  hand,  which  he  had  just  taken 
from  his  lips,  to  address  a  party  of  his  men  whom 
he  had  called  around  him,  and  whom,  it  appeared,  he 

was  about  to  despatch  on  some  piratical  expedition 

Breakfast  was  spread  on  the  floor,  and  orders  were 
given  to  load  the  camels  and  the  mules.  With  all 
possible  despatch  we  got  ready,  and  sallied  forth  from 
the  castle  of  our  Arab  chief,  greatly  delighted  with 
his  hospitality,  and  not  less  \\iih  the  idea  of  reaching 


THE    HOLY    LAND.  67 

Jerusalem  in  two  hours  and  a  half  from  the  time  of 
starting.  As  Abougosh  frequently  visits  Jerusalem, 
the  parting  scene  was  nothing  more  than  a  simple 
good  morning ;  he  saw  us  all  mounted  at  the  gate, 
and  bade  us  adieu.  We  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
him  frequently  at  the  Holy  City.  His  brother  con- 
tinued to  accompany  us  all  the  way. 

"  The  road  between  Karialoonah  and  Jei-usalem 
presents  nearly  the  same  features  with  that  in  the 
other  parts  of  the  hill  country  which  we  had  already 
passed.  The  mountains  continued  on  the  right  and 
on  the  left,  with  here  and  there  a  triangular  patch  of 
low  alluvial  land,  opening  into  a  narrow  valley,  per- 
vaded by  a  small  stream  of  water  that  scarcely  covered 
its  pebbly  bed.  We  passed  the  villages  of  Caglione 
and  Lefta,  and  a  small  brook  trickling  down  through 
the  valley  of  Turpentine.  Having  ascended  the  hill, 
where  the  road  has  been  formed  with  considerable 
care,  from  the  ledge  of  the  rock,  we  passed  the  vil- 
lage of  Abdelcader,  the  property  of  our  green -coated 
sheikh,  on  the  left,  and  in  a  few  minutes  came  in 
sight  of  Jerusalem,  from  which  we  were  distant  about 
ten  minutes'  walk  of  our  mules. 

"  These  plain  embattled  walls  in  the  midst  of  a  barren 
mountain  track,  do  they  enclose  the  city  of  Jerusalem  ? 
That  hill  at  a  distance  on  our  left,  supporting  a  crop 
of  barley,  and  crowned  with  a  half-ruined  hoary  man- 
sion, is  that  the  Mount  of  Olives  ?  Where  was  the 
temple  of  Solomon,  and  where  is  Mount  Zion,  the 
glory  of  the  whole  earth  ?  The  end  of  a  lofty  and 
contiguous  mountain  bounds  our  view  beyond  the  city 
on  the  south.  An  insulated  rock  peaks  up  on  our 
right,  and  a  broad,  flat-topped  mountain,  furrowed  by 
the  plough,  slopes  down  upon  our  left.  The  city  ia 
straight  before  us ;  but  the  greater  part  of  it  stands  ir 


68  PALESTINE;  OR, 

a  hollow,  that  opens  to  the  east ;  and  the  walls  being 
built  upon  the  higher  ground  on  the  north  and  on 
the  west,  prevent  the  interior  from  being  seen  in  this 
direction.  We  proceed  down  the  gentle  descent,  covered 
with  well-trodden  grass,  which  neither  the  sun  nor 
the  passengers  had  yet  deprived  of  its  verdure.  The 
ground  sinks  on  our  right  into  what  has  been  called 
the  valley  of  the  Son  of  Hinnom,  which  at  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  wall  becomes  a  broad,  deep  ravine, 
that  passes  the  gate  of  Yaffa  or  Bethlehem,  and  runs 
along  the  western  wall  of  the  city.  Arrived  at  the 
gate,  though  guarded  by  Turkish  soldiers,  we  pass 
without  tribute  or  interruption.  The  rosy  counte- 
nance of  Abdel  Rahman,  the  brother  of  Abougosh, 
like  a  handful  of  gold,  is  every  where  a  passport. 
The  castle  of  David,  or,  to  call  it  by  its  modern  name, 
the  tower  of  the  Pisans,  is  on  our  right ;  on  our  left 
is  a  rugged  stone  wall  inclosing  a  vacant  field  with  a 
pool  or  cistern.  The  ruins  are  at  the  gates ;  but 
nothing  of  the  grandeur  of  the  city  appears.  "We 
turned  to  the  left,  where  the  houses  commence  on 
both  hands,  and  a  few  steps  brought  us  to  the  Latin 
convent  of  Saint  Salvador.  The  fathers  and  the 
interpreters,  in  their  robes,  immediately  came  to  wel- 
come us  to  the  Holy  City:  with  all  possible  despatch 
the  animals  were  relieved  of  their  burdens,  and  we 
with  all  our  effects  were  accommodated  within  its 
«acred  walls."  * 

•  Travel*,  voL  ii.  pp.  221— 23J. 


THE   HOLY    LAND.  69 

JERUSALEM. 

Long.  35°  2<y  E.     Lat.  Hl°  47'  47"  N. 

THE  approach  to  Jerusalem  from  Jaffa  is  not  the 
direction  in  which  to  see  the  city  to  the  best  effect. 
Dr.  Clarke  entered  it  by  the  Damascus  gate,  and  he 
describes  the  view  of  Jerusalem,  when  first  descried 
from  the  summit  of  a  hill,  at  about  an  hour's  distance, 
as  most  impressive.  He  confesses,  at  the  same. time, 
that  there  is  no  other  point  of  view  in  which  it  is 
seen  to  so  much  advantage.  In  the  celebrated  pro- 
spect  from  the  Mount  of  Olives,  the  city  lies  too  low, 
is  too  near  the  eye,  and  has  too  much  the  character  of 
a  bird's-eye  view,  with  the  formality  of  a  topographical 
plan.  "  We  had  not  been  prepared,"  says  this  lively 
traveller,  "  for  the  grandeur  of  the  spectacle  which 
the  city  alone  exhibited.  Instead  of  a  wretched  and 
ruined  town,  by  some  described  as  the  desolated  rem- 
nant of  Jerusalem,  we  beheld,  as  it  were,  a  flourish- 
ing and  stately  metropolis,  presenting  a  magnificent 
assemblage  of  domes,  towers,  palaces,  churches,  and 
monasteries ;  all  of  which,  glittering  in  the  sun's 
rays,  shone  with  inconceivable  splendour.  As  we 
drew  nearer,  our  whole  attention  was  engrossed  by 
its  noble  and  interesting  appearance.  The  lofty  hills 
surrounding  it,  give  the  city  itself  an  appearance  of 
elevation  less  than  it  really  has."  Dr.  Clarke  was 
fortunate  in  catching  this  first  view  of  Jerusalem 
under  the  illusion  of  a  brilliant  evening  sunshine,  but 
his  description  is  decidedly  overcharged.  M.  Chateau- 
briand, Mr.  Buckingham,  Mr.  Brown,  Mr.  Jolliffe, 
Sir  F.  Henniker,  and  almost  every  other  modern 
traveller,  confirm  the  representation  of  Dr.  Richard- 


70  PALESTINE;  OR, 

son.  Mr.  Buckingham  says  :  "  The  appearance  of 
this  celebrated  city,  independent  of  the  feelings  and 
recollections  which  the  approach  to  it  cannot  fail  to 
awaken,  was  greatly  inferior  to  my  expectations,  and 
had  certainly  nothing  of  grandeur  or  beauty,  of  state- 
liness  or  magnificence,  about  it.  It  appeared  like  a 
walled  town  of  the  third  or  fourth  class,  having 
neither  towers,  nor  domes,  nor  minarets  within  it.  in 
sufficient  numbers  to  give  even  a  character  to  its  im- 
pressions on  the  beholder ;  but  shewing  chiefly  large 
flat-roofed  buildings  of  the  most  unornamented  kind, 
seated  amid  nigged  hills,  on  a  stony  and  forbidding 
soil,  with  scarcely  a  picturesque  object  in  the  whole 
compass  of  the  surrounding  view." 

Chateaubriand's  description  is  very  striking  and 
graphical.  After  citing  the  language  of  the  prophet 
Jeremiah,  in  his  lamentations  on  the  desolation  of 
the  ancient  city,  as  accurately  portraying  its  present 
state,*  he  thus  proceeds  :  — 

"  When  seen  from  the  Mount  of  Olives,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  Jerusalem 
presents  an  inclined  plane,'  descending  from  west  to 
east.  An  embattled  wall,  fortified  with  towers  and  a 
Gothic  castle,  encompasses  the  city  all  round  ;  ex- 
cluding, however,  part  of  Mount  Sion,  which  it  for- 
merly enclosed.  In  the  western  quarter,  and  in  the 
centre  of  the  city,  the  houses  stand  very  close  ;  but, 
in  the  eastern  part,  along  the  brook  Kedron,  you 
perceive  vacant  spaces ;  among  the  rest,  that  which 
surrounds  the  mosque  erected  on  the  ruins  of  the 
Temple,  and  the  nearly-deserted  spot  where  once 
stood  the  castle  of  Antonia  and  the  second  palace 
of  Herod. 

•  Lamentations  i.  1—6;  ii.  1—9,  15. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  71 

"  The  houses  of  Jerusalem  are  heavy  square  masses, 
very  low,  without  chimneys  or  windows ;  they  have 
flat  terraces  or  domes  on  the  top,  and  look  like  prisons 
or  sepulchres.  The  whole  would  appear  to  the  eye 
one  uninterrupted  level,  did  not  the  steeples  of  the 
churches,  the  minarets  of  the  mosques,  the  summits 
of  a  few  cypresses,  and  the  clumps  of  nopals,  break 
the  uniformity  of  the  plan.  On  beholding  these  stone 
buildings,  encompassed  by  a  stony  country,  you  are 
ready  to  inquire  if  they  are  not  the  confused  monu- 
ments of  a  cemetery  in  the  midst  of  a  desert. 

"  Enter  the  city,  but  nothing  will  you  there  find  to 
make  amends  for  the  dulness  of  its  exterior.  You 
lose  yourself  among  narrow,  unpaved  streets,  here 
going  up  hill,  there  down,  from  the  inequality  of  the 
ground,  and  you  walk  among  clouds  of  dust  or  loose 
stones.  Canvas  stretched  from  house  to  house  in- 
creases the  gloom  of  this  labyrinth.  Bazars,  roofed 
over,  and  fraught  with  infection,  completely  exclude 
the  light  from  the  desolate  city.  A  few  paltry  shops 
expose  nothing  but  wretchedness  to  view,  and  even 
these  are  frequently  shut,  from  apprehension  of  the 
passage  of  a  cadi.  Not  a  creature  is  to  be  seen  in  the 
streets,  not  a  creature  at  the  gates,  except  now  and 
then  a  peasant  gliding  through  the  gloom,  concealing 
under  his  garments  the  fruits  of  his  labour,  lest  he 
should  be  robbed  of  his  hard  earnings  by  the  rapacious 
soldier.  Aside,  in  a  corner,  the  Arab  butcher  ia 
slaughtering  some  animal,  suspended  by  the  legs  from 
a  wall  in  ruins  :  from  his  haggard  and  ferocious  look, 
and  his  bloody  hands,  you  would  suppose  that  he  had 
been  cutting  the  throat  of  a  fellow-creature,  rather 
than  killing  a  lamb.  The  only  noise  heard  from  time 
to  time  in  the  city,  is  the  galloping  of  the  steed  of  tlia 


7-2  PALESTINE;  OK, 

desert :  it  is  the  janissary  who  brings  the  head  of  the 
Bedouin,  or  who  returns  from  plundering  the  un- 
happy Fellah. 

"  Amid  this  extraordinary  desolation,  you  must 
pause  a  moment  to  contemplate  two  circumstances 
still  more  extraordinary.  Among  the  ruins  of  Jeru. 
salem,  two  classes  of  independent  people  find  in  their 
religion  sufficient  fortitude  to  enable  them  to  sur- 
mount such  complicated  horrors  and  wretchedness. 
Here  reside  communities  of  Christian  monks,  whom 
nothing  can  compel  to  forsake  the  tomb  of  Christ ; 
neither  plunder  nor  personal  ill-treatment,  nor  me- 
naces of  death  itself.  Night  and  day  they  chaunt 
their  hymns  around  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  Driven 
by  the  cudgel  and  the  sabre,  women,  children,  flocks, 
and  herds,  seek  refuge  in  the  cloisters  of  these  re- 
cluses. What  prevents  the  armed  oppressor  from 
pursuing  his  prey,  and  overthrowing  such  feeble  ram- 
parts ?  The  charity  of  the  monks  :  they  deprive 
themselves  of  the  last  resources  of  life  to  ransom  their 
suppliants.* Cast  your  eyes  between  the  Temple 

*  Dr.  Clarke  draws  a  somewhat  different  picture  of  these  holy 
friars :  he  describes  them,  in  the  first  place,  as  the  most  corpu- 
lent he  had  ever  seen  issue  from"  the  warmest  cloisters  of  Spain 
or  Italy.  Their  comfortable  convent,  compared  with  the  usual 
accommodations  of  the  Holy  Land,  is,  he  says,  like  a  sumptuous 
and  well-furnished  hotel.  "  The  influence  which  a  peculiar 
mode  of  life  has  upon  the  constitution  in  this  climate,  might," 
he  adds,  "  be  rendered  evident,  by  contrasting  one  of  these  jolly 
fellows "  (the  guardians  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  or,  according  to 
the  name  they  bear,  the  Terra  Santa  friars,)  "  with  the  Propa- 
ganda missionaries.  The  latter  are  as  meagre  and  as  pale  as 
the  former  are  corpulent  and  ruddy."  In  the  commotions 
which  have  taken  place  in  Jerusalem,  the  convent  of  St.  Salva- 
dor has  been  repeatedly  plundered ;  yet  still,  the  riches  of  the 
treasury  are  said  to  be  considerable.  The  Franciscans  complain 
heavily  of  the  exactions  of  the  Turks,  who  make  frequent  and 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  73 

and  Mount  Sioa  ;  behold  another  petty  tribe,  cut  off 
from  the  rest  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  city.  The 
particular  objects  of  every  species  of  degradation, 
these  people  bow  their  heads  without  murmuring; 
they  endure  every  kind  of  insult  without  demanding 
justice;  they  sink  beneath  repeated  blows  without 
sighing ;  if  their  head  be  required,  they  present  it  to 
the  scimitar.  On  the  death  of  any  member  of  this 
proscribed  community,  his  companion  goes  at  night, 
and  inters  him  by  stealth  in  the  valley  of  Jehosha- 
phat,  in  the  shadow  of  Solomon's  Temple.  Enter  the 
abodes  of  these  people,  you  will  find  them,  amid  the 
most  abject  wretchedness,  instructing  their  children 
to  read  a  mysterious  book,  which  they  in  their  turn 
will  teach  their  offspring  to  read.  What  they  did 
five  thousand  years  ago,  these  people  still  continue  to 
do.  Seventeen  times  have  they  witnessed  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem,  yet  nothing  can  discourage  them, 
nothing  can  prevent  them  from  turning  their  faces 
towards  Sion.  To  see  the  Jews  scattered  over  the 

large  demands  on  them  for  money.  "  But,"  remarks  Dr.  C.,  "  the 
fact  of  their  being  able  to  answer  these  demands  affords  a  proof  of 
the  wealth  of  their  convent."  Sir  Sidney  Smith,  during  his  visit 
to  Jerusalem,  rendered  them  essential  service,  which  they  have 
not  forgotten,  by  remonstrating  with  the  Turkish  governor  against 
one  of  these  avanias,  as  they  are  called,  and  finally  inducing  him 
to  withdraw  the  charge.  Hasselquist  states  the  sum  that  yearly 
passed  through  the  hands  of  the  procurator  of  the  convent  to  be 
at  least  half  a  million  of  livres.  "  The  revenues,"  he  says, 
"arise  from  alms,  the  greatest  part  from  Spain  and  Portugal; 
from  those  people  who  permit  the  barbarians  to  ruin  their  trade, 
and  plunder  their  country  without  supplying  one  piastre  for 
their  chastisement ;  but  send  yearly  a  considerable  sum  to  Jeru- 
salem to  be  devoured  by  Turks,  their  inveterate  enemies,  and  by 
monks  who  are  useless  inhabitants  in  Europe,  and  unnecessary 
at  Jerusalem,  where  they  are  of  no  sort  of  advantage  to  Chris- 
tianity." 

PART   I.  F 


74  TALES-TIKE;  OR, 

whole  world,  according  to  the  Word  of  God,  must 
doubtless  excite  surprise.  But,  to  be  struck  with 
supernatural  astonishment,  you  must  view  them  at 
Jerusalem ;  you  must  behold  these  rightful  masters  of 
Judea  living  as  slaves  and  strangers  in  their  own 
country ;  you  must  behold  them  expecting,  under  all 
oppressions,  a  king  who  is  to  deliver  them.  Crushed 
by  the  Cross  that  condemns  them,  skulking  near  the 
Temple,  of  which  not  one  stone  is  left  upon  another, 
they  continue  in  their  deplorable  infatuation.  The 
Persians,  the  Greeks,  the  Romans,  are  swept  from  the 
earth  ;  and  a  petty  tribe,  whose  origin  preceded  that 
of  those  great  nations,  still  exists  unmixed  among  the 
ruins  of  its  native  land."  * 

"  Jerusalem,"  remarks  another  modern  traveller, 
"  is  called  even  by  Mohammedans,  the  Blessed  City 
(El  Gootz,  or  El  Koudes).  The  streets  of  it  are 
narrow  and  deserted,  the  houses  dirty  and  ragged, 
the  shops  few  and  forsaken ;  and  throughout  the 
whole  there  is  not  one  symptom  of  either  commerce, 

comfort,    or   happiness The   best   view   of  it  is 

from  the  Mount  of  Olives :  it  commands  the  exact 
shape  and  nearly  every  particular,  viz.  the  church 
of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  the  Armenian  convent,  the 
mosque  of  Omar,  St.  Stephen's  gate,  the  round-topped 
houses,  and  the  barren  vacancies  of  the  city.  With- 
out the  walls  are  a  Turkish  burial-ground,  the  tomb 
of  David,  a  small  grove  near  the  tombs  of  the  kings, 
and  all  the  rest  is  a  surface  of  rock,  on  which  are 
a  few  numbered  trees.  The  mosque  of  Omar  is  the 
St.  Peter's  of  Turkey,  and  the  respective  saints  are 
held  respectively  by  their  own  faithful  in  equal  vene- 

•  Travels  in  Greece,  Palestine,  &c.,  by  F.  A.  de  Chateaubriand, 
ToL  ii.  8vo.  pp.  179—183. 


THE  HOLY   LAND.  75 

ration.  The  building  itself  has  a  light,  pagoda  ap- 
pearance ;  the  garden  in  which  it  stands  occupies  a 
considerable  part  of  the  city,  and  contrasted  with 
the  surrounding  desert  is  beautiful The  burial- 
place  of  the  Jews  is  over  the  valley  of  Kedron,  and 
the  fees  for  breaking  the  soil  afford  a  considerable 
revenue  to  the  governor.  The  burial-place  of  the 
Turks  is  under  the  walls,  near  St.  Stephen's  gate. 
From  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley,  I  was  witness  to 
the  ceremony  of  parading  a  corpse  round  the  mosque 
of  Omar,  and  then  bringing  it  forth  for  burial.  I 
hastened  to  the  grave,  but  was  soon  driven  away: 
as  far  as  my  on  dit  tells  me,  it  would  have  been  worth 
seeing.  The  grave  is  strewn  with  red  earth,  supposed 
to  be  of  the  Ager  Damascenus  of  which  Adam  was 
made ;  by  the  side  of  the  corpse  is  placed  a  stick, 
and  the  priest  tells  him  that  the  devil  will  tempt  him 
to  become  a  Christian,  but  that  he  must  make  good 
use  of  his  stick  ;  that  his  trial  will  last  three  days, 
and  that  he  will  then  find  himself  in  a  mansion  of 
glory,  &c."  • 

The  Jerusalem  of  sacred  history  is,  in  fact,  no 
more.  Not  a  vestige  remains  of  the  capital  of  David 
and  Solomon ;  not  a  monument  of  Jewish  times  is 
standing.  The  very  course  of  the  walls  is  changed, 
and  the  boundaries  of  the  ancient  city  are  become 
doubtful.  The  monks  pretend  to  shew  the  sites  of 
the  sacred  places  ;  but  neither  Calvary,  nor  the  Holy 
Sepulchre,  much  less  the  Dolorous  Way,  the  house 
of  Caiaphas,  &c.,  have  the  slightest  pretensions  to 
even  a  probable  identity  with  the  real  places  to  which 
the  tradition  refers.  Dr.  Clarke  has  the  merit  of 

*  Notes  during  a  Visit  to  Egypt,  <kc.,  by  Sir  Fiederick  Hen- 
niker,  bart.  8vo.  pp.  274—278. 


76  PALESTINE;  OR, 

being  the  first  modern  traveller  who  ventured  to 
speak  of  the  preposterous  legends  and  clumsy  forgeries 
of  the  priests  with  the  contempt  which  they  merit. 
"  To  men  interested  in  tracing,  within  the  walls, 
antiquities  referred  to  by  the  documents  of  sacred 
history,  no  spectacle,"  remarks  the  learned  traveller, 
"  can  be  more  mortifying  than  the  city  in  its  present 
State.  The  mistaken  piety  of  the  early  Christians, 
»n  attempting  to  preserve,  has  either  confused  or 
annihilated  the  memorials  it  was  anxious  to  render 
conspicuous.  Viewing  the  havoc  thus  made,  it  may 
now  be  regretted  that  the  Holy  Land  was  ever 
rescued  from  the  dominion  of  Saracens,  who  were  far 
less  barbarous  than  their  conquerors.  The  absurdity, 
for  example,  of  hewing  the  rocks  of  Judea  into  shrines 
and  chapels,  and  of  disguising  the  face  of  nature  with 
painted  domes  and  gilded  marble  coverings,  by  way 
of  commemorating  the  scenes  of  our  Saviour's  life  and 
death,  is  so  evident,  and  so  lamentable,  that  even 
Sandys,  with  all  his  credulity,  could  not  avoid  a  happy 
application  of  the  reproof  conveyed  by  the  Roman 
satirist  against  a  similar  violation  of  the  Egerian 
fountain."  * 

Dr.  Clarke,  however,  though  he  discovers  his  sound 
judgement  in  these  remarks,  has  contributed  very  little 
to  the  illustration  of  the  topography  of  Jerusalem. 

•  Travels  in  various  Countries,  part  ii.  vol.  iv.  8vo.  pp.  295,  2C6. 
Sandys'  words  are,  speaking  of  the  supposititious  sepulchre,  that 
"  those  natural  forms  are  utterly  deformed,  which  would  have 
better  satisfied  the  beholder,  and  too  much  regard  hath  made  them 
less  regardable. 

• Quanto  prsestantius  esset 

Numen  aquae,  viridi  si  margine  clauderet  undas 
Herba:  nee  ingenuum  violarent  mannora  tophum. 

Jcv.  Sat.  3." 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  77 

His  plan  is  extremely  inaccurate,  and  his  hypothesis 
respecting  the  site  of  the  ancient  Zion  altogether 
baseless.  It  is  quite  evident  that  he  trusted  to  his 
recollection  in  drawing  up  the  account  of  Jerusalem, 
and  that  his  memory  has  misled  him.  By  far  the 
best  account  which  has  been  given  of  the  sacred  city, 
is  that  furnished  by  Dr.  Richardson,  who,  by  virtue 
of  his  professional  character  as  a  physician, — a  cha- 
racter esteemed  sacred  all  over  the  East, — was  per- 
mitted four  times  to  enter,  in  company  with  some  of 
the  principal  Turks  in  Jerusalem,  the  sacred  enclosure 
of  the  Stoa  Sakhara,  the  mosque  of  Omar.  With  the 
exception  of  Ali  Bey,  who  passed  for  a  Moslem, 
though  really  a  Spaniard,  Dr.  R.  is  the  only  Frank 
vhose  feet  hare  trodden  the  consecrated  ground  with 
impunity,  since  the  days  of  the  Crusades.  A  Jew 
or  a  Christian  entering  within  its  precincts,  must, 
if  discovered,  forfeit  either  his  religion  or  his  life. 
Sir  F.  Henniker  states,  that  a  few  days  before  he 
visited  Jerusalem,  a  Greek  Christian  entered  the 
mosque.  "  He  was  a  Turkish  subject,  and  servant 
to  a  Turk  :  he  was  invited  to  change  his  religion, 
but  refused,  and  was  immediately  murdered  by  the 
mob.  His  body  remained  exposed  in  the  street ;  and 
a  passing  Mussulman,  kicking  up  the  head,  exclaimed, 
4  That  is  the  way  I  would  serve  all  Christians.'  " 
Before  we  proceed,  however,  to  enter  the  Mahom- 
medan  holy  of  holies,  by  far  the  most  interesting, 
and  perhaps  the  most  ancient  edifice  now  standing 
in  Jerusalem,  we  shall  avail  ourselves  of  Dr.  Richard, 
son's  minute  account  of  the  modern  town. 

"  It  is,"  he  remarks,  "  a  tantalizing  circumstance 
for  the  traveller  who  wishes  to  recognise  in  his  walks 
the  site  of  particular  buildings,  or  the  scenes  of  me. 


78  PALESTINE;  OR, 

morable  events,  that  the  greater  part  of  the  objects 
mentioned  in  the  description  both  of  the  inspired  and 
the  Jewish  historian,  are  entirely  removed,  and  razed 
from  their  foundation,  without  leaving  a  single  trace 
or  name  behind  to  point  out  where  they  stood.  Not 
an  ancient  tower,  or  gate,  or  wall,  or  hardly  even  a 
atone  remains.  The  foundations  are  not  only  broken 
up,  but  every  fragment  of  which  they  were  composed 
is  swept  away,  and  the  spectator  looks  upon  the  bare 
rock  with  hardly  a  sprinkling  of  earth  to  point  out 
her  gardens  of  pleasure,  or  groves  of  idolatrous  devo- 
tion. And  when  we  consider  the  palaces,  and  towers, 
and  walls  about  Jerusalem,  and  that  the  stones  of 
which  some  of  them  were  constructed  were  thirty  feet 
long,  fifteen  feet  broad,  and  seven  and  a  half  feet 
thick,  we  are  not  more  astonished  at  the  strength, 
and  skill,  and  perseverance  by  which  they  were  con- 
structed, than  shocked  by  the  relentless  and  brutal 
hostility  by  which  they  were  shattered  and  over- 
thrown, and  utterly  removed  from  our  sight.  A  few 
gardens  still  remain  on  the  sloping  base  of  Mount 
Zion,  watered  from  the  pool  of  Siloam  ;  the  gardens  of 
Getjsemane  are  still  in  a  sort  of  ruined  cultivation; 
the  fences  are  broken  down,  and  the  olive-trees  decay- 
ing, as  if  the  hand  that  dressed  and  fed  them  were 
withdrawn  ;  the  Mount  of  Olives  still  retains  a  lan- 
guishing verdure,  and  nourishes  a  few  of  those  trees 
from  which  it  derives  its  name  ;  but  all  round  about 
Jerusalem  the  general  aspect  is  blighted,  and  barren ; 
the  grass  is  withered ;  the  bare  rock  looks  through 
the  scanty  sward ;  and  the  grain  itself,  like  the  staring 
progeny  of  famine,  seems  in  doubt  whether  to  come 
to  maturity,  or  die  in  the  ear.  The  vine  that  was 
brought  from  Egypt  i*  cut  off  from  the  midst  of  the 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  79 

land ;  the  vineyards  are  wasted  ;  the  hedges  are  taken 
away ;  and  the  graves  of  the  ancient  dead  are  open 
and  tenantless." 

The  Jerusalem  that  now  is,  is  still  a  respectable, 
good-looking  town,  of  an  irregular  shape,  approaching 
to  a  square  :  it  is  surrounded  by  a  high,  embattled 
wall,  built,  for  the  most  part,   of  the  common  stone 
of  the  country,  which  is  a  compact  limestone.     It  has 
now,  including  the  golden  gate,  seven  gates.  One  looks 
to  the  west,  and  is  called  the  gate  of  Yaffa,  or  Beth- 
lehem, because  the  road  to  those  places  passes  through 
it.  *     Two  look  to  the  north,  and  are  called  the  gate 
of  Damascus  (Sab  el  Sham),  and  the  gate  of  Herod 
(or  Ephraim  gate).     A  fourth,  looking  to  the  east, 
is  called  St.  Stephen's  gate,  because  near  it  the  proto- 
martyr  was  stoned  to  death :  it  is  close  to  the  Temple, 
or  mosque   of  Omar,  and  leads   to   the  gardens   of 
Gethsemane   and   the    Mount  of  Olives.     The  fifth 
leads  into  the    Temple,   or  Haram  Schereeff,  but  is 
now  built  up,  owing,  it  is  said,  to  a  tradition  that 
the  Christians  will  take  the  city  by  this  gate :  it  is 
called   the  golden   gate.      Another   gate   leads   from 
without  the  city  into  the  mosque  of  El  Aksa,  formerly 
the  church  of  the  presentation,  and  is  called  the  gate 
of  the  Virgin  Mary,  Bab  el  Setta  Maria.     On  account 
of  a  turn  in  the  wall,  this  gate,  though  in  the  east 
wall  of  the  city,  looks  to  the  South  towards  Mount 
Zion  :    it  is  not,  however,  strictly  speaking,  a  gate 
of  the  city.     What,  therefore,  we  reckon  the   sixth 
gate,  is  the  dung  gate,  or  sterquiline  gate.     This  is 
small,  not  admitting  either  horses    or  carriages   (of 
the  latter,  however,  there  are  none  in  Jerusalem); 

•  This  is  the  pilgrims'  gate,  called  also  by  the  Arabs  Bab  el  Mo- 
garba,  or  gate  of  the  Mangrabins. 


80  PALESTINE;   OR, 

and  from  the  wall  resuming  its  former  direction,  it 
looks  towards  the  east.  The  last  is  called  Zion  gate, 
or  the  gate  of  the  prophet  David  :  it  looks  to  the 
south,  and  is  in  that  part  of  the  wall  which  passes 
over  Mount  Zion. 

The  longest  wall  is  that  on  the  north  side  of  the 
city,  which  runs  from  the  valley  of  Gihon  on  the 
west,  to  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat  on  the  east.  The 
circumference  of  the  area  now  enclosed  within  the 
walls,  does  not  exceed,  according  to  the  measurement 
of  Maundrell  and  Pococke,  two  of  our  most  accurate 
travellers,  two  miles  and  a  half.*  The  city  may  be 


•  Maundrell  says :  "  I  was  willing,  before  our  departure,  to  mea- 
sure the  circuit  of  the  city ;  so,  taking  one  of  the  friars  with  me, 
I  went  out  in  the  afternoon  in  order  to  pace  the  walls  round.  We 
went  out  at  Bethlehem  gate,  and  proceeding  on  the  right  hand, 
came  about  to  the  same  gate  again.  I  found  the  whole  city  4630 
paces  in  circumference,  which  I  computed  thus : — 

From  Bethlehem  gate  to  the  corner  on  the  right  •» 

hand /  * 

From  that  corner  to  Damascus  gate 680 

From  Damascus  gate  to  Herod's 380 

From  Herod's  gate  to  Jeremiah's  prison 150 

From  Jeremiah's  prison  to  the  corner  next  the\ 

valley  of  Jehoshaphat >  a25 

From  that  corner  to  St.  Stephen's  gate 385 

From  St.  Stephen's  gate  to  the  Golden  gate 240 

From    the  Golden   gate   to   the  corner  of  the> 

wall 5  **> 

From  that  comer  to  the  Dung  gate 470 

From  the  Dung  gate  to  Sion  gate • 605 

From  Sion  gate  to  the  corner  of  the  wall 215 

From  that  corner  to  Bethlehem  gate    500 

In  all,  paces 4630 

"  The  reduction  of  my  paces  to  yaids,  is  by  casting  away  a 
tenth  part,  ten  of  my  paces  making  nine  yards;  by  which 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  81 

roughly  stated  to  be  about  a  mile  in  length,  and  half 
a  mile  in  breadth.  Pococke  accurately  describes  it  as 
standing  at  the  south  end  of  a  large  plain  that  extends 
northwards  towards  Samaria,  though  it  in  fact  im- 
•fiediately  occupies  two  small  hills,  having  valleys  or 
ravines  on  the  other  three  sides ;  which,  to  the  east 
and  the  south,  are  very  deep.  That  on  the  east  is  the 
ealley  of  Jehoshaphat ;  that  on  the  south  is  called  the 
ralley  of  Siloam,  and  (erroneously)  of  Gehinnom ;  that 
on  the  west,  which  is  not  so  deep,  the  valley  of 
Rephaim.  The  hills  on  the  other  side  of  these  valleys 
are,  for  the  most  part,  considerably  higher  than  either 
Mount  Zion  or  Acra.  On  the  east,  Jerusalem  is  com- 
manded by  the  Mount  of  Olives,  called  Djebel  Tor  by 
the  Arabs.  On  the  south,  by  what  the  Christians 
absurdly  denominate  the  Hill  of  Offence  and  the  Hill 
of  Evil  Counsel.  On  the  west,  by  a  low  rocky  flat, 
which  rises  towards  the  north  to  a  commanding  ele- 
vation :  this  has  been  called  Mount  Gihon.  On  the 
north-west,  Scopo,  where  Titus  encamped,  is  also 
higher  ground  than  that  on  which  Jerusalem  stands. 
So  that  the  Scripture  representation  of  Jerusalem,  as 
guarded  by  mountains,  literally  answers  to  its  topo- 
graphical situation  :  "  As  the  mountains  are  round 
about  Jerusalem,  so  the  Lord  is  round  about  his  peo- 
ple, from  henceforth,  even  for  ever."* 

The  site  of  the  ancient  city  is  so  unequivocally 
marked  by  its  natural  boundaries  on  the  three  sides 

reckoning,  the  4630  paces  amount  to  4167  yards,  which  make 
just  two  miles  and  a  half."  —  Journey  from  Aleppo  to  Jeru- 
salem. 

Sir  F.  Henniker  reckoned  the  regular  footpath,  outside  the 
walls,  to  be  5320  paces :  he  performed  the  circuit  hi  just  forty-five 
minutes,  and  estimates  it  roughly  at  three  miles. 

•  Psalm  CJULV.  2. 

T  2 


82  PALESTINE  ;    OB, 

where  there  are  ravines,  that  there  cau  be  no  diffi- 
cuky,  except  with  regard  to  its  extent  in  a  northern 
direction ;  and  this  may  be  ascertained  with  sufficient 
accuracy  from  the  minute  description  given  by  Jose- 
phus.  His  account  of  its  topography  is,  after  all,  the 
best  guide  to  the  modern  traveller  and  antiquary. 
"  The  city  of  Jerusalem,"  he  tells  us,  "  was  fortified 
with  three  walls,  on  such  parts  as  were  not  encom- 
passed with  impassable  valleys ;  for  in  such  places  it 
hath  but  one  wall.  The  city  was  built  upon  two  hills, 
which  are  opposite  to  one  another,  and  have  a  valley 
dividing  them  asunder,  at  which  valley  the  corre- 
sponding rows  of  houses  on  both  hills  terminate.  Of 
these  hills,  that  which  contains  the  upper  city  is 
much  higher,  and  in  length  more  direct :  accordingly, 
it  was  called  the  Citadel  by  king  David ;  he  was  the 
father  of  that  Solomon  who  built  this  Temple  at  the 
first ;  but  it  is  by  us  called  the  Upper  Market-place. 
But  the  other  hill,  which  was  called  Acra,  and  sus- 
tains the  lower  city,  is  of  the  shape  of  the  moon  when 
she  is  horned.  Over  against  this  there  was  a  third 
hill,  naturally  lower  than  Acra,  and  parted  formerly 
from  the  other  by  a  broad  valley.  However,  in  those 
times  when  the  Asmoneans  reigned,  they  filled  up 
that  valley  with  earth,  and  had  a  mind  to  join  the 
city  to  the  Temple.  They  then  took  off  part  of  the 
height  of  Acra,  and  reduced  it  to  be  of  less  elevation 
than  it  was  before,  that  the  Temple  might  be  superior 
to  it.  Now  the  Valley  of  the  Cheesemongers,  as  it 
was  called,  and  was  that  which  we  told  you  before 
distinguished  the  hill  of  the  upper  city  from  that  of 
the  lower,  extended  as  far  as  Siloam  ;  for  that  is  the 
name  of  a  fountain  which  hath  sweet  water  in  it,  and 
this  in  great  plenty  also.  But  on  the  outsides  these 
hills  are  surrounded  by  deep  valleys,  and,  by  reason 


THE  HOLY  LAND-  83 

of  the  precipices  on  both  sides,  are  everywhere  im- 
passable." * 

The  Jewish  historian  then  goes  on  to  describe  the 
course  of  the  walls.  He  says,  that  the  beginning  of 
the  third  (or  outer)  wall  was  at  the  tower  Hippicus, 
which,  D'Anville  is  of  opinion,  stood  near  the  south- 
west angle  of  the  present  area  of  Jerusalem. -|-  From 
this  point  it  reached  as  far  as  the  north  quarter  of  the 
city  and  the  tower  Psephinus,  and  then  extended  till 
it  came  over  against  the  monument  of  Helena,  queen 
of  Adiabene.  It  then  extended  farther  to  a  great 
length,  and  passed  by  the  sepulchral  caverns  of  the 
kings,J  and  bent  again  at  the  tower  of  the  corner, 
at  the  monument  called  the  monument  of  the  Fuller, 
and  joined  to  the  old  wall  at  the  valley  of  Kedron. 
The  tower  of  Psephinus  is,  by  D'Anville,  supposed  to 
have  occupied  the  site  of  what  is  called  Castel  Pisano, 
or  the  Castle  of  the  Pisans  at  Bethlehem  gate ;  and 
the  modern  name  may  possibly  be  only  a  corruption 
of  the  ancient  one.  It  is  true,  that  the  citizens  of 
Pisa  distinguished  themselves  in  the  Crusades,  and 
had  establishments  and  grants  at  Acre,  Tyre,  and 
other  places  in  the  Holy  Land ;  and  Paolo  Tronci, 
in  his  Annals  of  Pisa,  claims  for  two  of  his  country- 
men the  honour  of  having  been  the  first  who  scaled 
the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  when  the  city  was  taken  by 
Godfrey  of  Bouillon.  But  history  throws  no  other 


»  Josephus,  Jewish  Wars,  book  v.  chap.  4. 

t  Pococke  says:  "  Herod  built  three  towers  on  the  north  side 
of  Sion,  and  gave  them  the  names  of  Hippicus,  Phasaelus,  and 
Mariamne.  The  tower  Hippicus  was  at  the  north-west  corner 
(of  Sion)." 

t  Dr.  Clarke  reads  the  words  of  Josephus  thus:  "  And  being 
prolonged  by  the  royal  oaves,  it  bent,  with  n  tower  at  the  corner, 
near  the  monument,"  &c. 


84  PALESTINE  ;   OR, 

light  on  the  origin  of  the  name.  This  tower,  the 
learned  geographer  understands  Josephus  to  say, 
flanked  the  north-west  angle  of  the  city ;  and  he 
imagines  that  the  western  wall  did  not  extend  farther 
north,  but  turned  off  toward  the  east.  But  the  words 
of  the  Jewish  historian  by  no  means  imply  as  much 
as  this :  on  the  contrary,  the  wall  evidently  extended 
northward,  beyond  the  tower  Psephinus,  to  the  monu- 
ments of  Helena.  The  supposition  of  D'Anville  is, 
besides,  quite  at  variance  with  the  representation  that 
the  ancient  city  was  limited  on  the  western  side,  as 
well  as  on  the  south  and  east,  only  by  the  ravine. 
44  This  direction  of  the  wall,"  remarks  Dr.  Richard- 
son,  "  would  suit  the  opinion  of  those  who  contend 
that  the  places  shewn  as  the  site  of  the  crucifixion, 
interment,  and  resurrection,  of  the  blessed  Jesus,  are 
what  they  are  represented  to  be  ;  and  this  direction 
of  the  ancient  wall  of  the  city  appears  to  have  been 
chalked  out  to  meet  and  support  that  opinion.  I  can 
only  say,  that  I  saw  no  vestiges  of  such  a  wall  re- 
maining, and  it  would  be  the  most  disadvantageous 
situation  possible  for  a  wall  of  defence,  for  it  must 
have  been  drawn  along  the  low  ground  almost  in 
immediate  contact  with  high  ground  that  would  com- 
mand and  overlook  it,  though  it  were  raised  to  the 
height  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet,  or,  in  some  places, 
forty  feet.  Besides,  it  would  not  make  Jerusalem, 
what  it  is  called  by  the  Psalmist,  a  compact  city,  but 
a  long,  narrow  strip,  slightly  fortified  by  nature  on 
the  east :  which  does  not  correspond  to  the  general 
description,  that  it  was  strongly  fortified  by  nature 
on  all  sides  but  the  north.  There  is  another  circum- 
stance, that  on  the  north  of  Bethlehem  gate  there  is  a 
large  cistern  cut  in  the  rock,  which,  as  legends  tell, 
is  the  place  where  David  saw  the  bathing  Bathsheba, 


THE  HOLY   LAND.  85 

and  which  was  probably  within  the  ancient,  as  it  is 
within  the  walls  of  the  present  town.  Moreover,  to 
the  north  of  this,  and  to  the  north  of  the  northern 
wall  of  the  present  town,  there  is  another  cistern  cut 
in  the  rock,  and  half  filled  up  with  earth,  and  which, 
1  think,  was  also  within  the  walls  of  the  ancient 
town ;  and,  in  my  opinion,  the  western  wall  of  the 
city  stretched  along  the  edge  of  the  ravine,  as  far 
as  it  continues,  and  then  passed  over  to  the  brook 
Kedron.  The  city  was  thus  encompassed  on  the  west 
and  on  the  south  by  the  ravine ;  on  the  east  by  the 
valley  of  Kedron ;  and  on  the  north,  as  is  stated  by 
Josephus,  it  had  no  protection  whatever,  but  from 
the  wall  by  which  it  was  enclosed,  and  which,  we  are 
assured  by  the  same  authority,  was  almost  impreg- 
nable. The  fortifications  were  begun  by  Herod 
Agrippa,  and,  after  his  death,  the  Jews  purchased 
from  the  emperor  Claudius,  permission  to  continue 
them,  and  went  on,  and  completed  the  walls,  to  the 
height  of  thirty-seven  feet,  and  in  breadth  fifteen  feet, 
with  great  stones  of  thirty  feet  long,  and  fifteen  feet 
broad.  One  part  of  Titus's  army  encamped  on  Scopus, 
a  hill  at  the  distance  of  about  seven  stadia,  or  seven- 
eighths  of  a  mile  from  the  city  on  the  north,  and 
which  derived  its  name  from  its  elevated  situation 
affording  a  fine  view  of  Jerusalem.  Between  the  hill 
Scopus,  and  the  northern  w.all  of  the  city,  was  a 
sloping  plain,  which  was  covered  with  gardens,  monu- 
ments, and  trees,  which  were  all  destroyed  ;  but  the 
ground  still  answers  to  the  description :  generally 
speaking,  it  is  covered  with  a  thin  sprinkling  of  earth, 
and  is  under  cultivation.  Another  division  of  the 
Roman  army,  in  which  was  the  tenth  legion,  which 
came  through  Jericho,  encamped  at  the  distance  of  six 
furlongs  from  Jerusalem,  at  the  mount  called  the 


86  PALESTINE;  OB, 

Mount  of  Olives,  which  lies  over  against  the  city  on 
the  east  side,  and  is  parted  from  it  by  a  deep  valley 
which  is  named  Cedron.  This  ground  also  answers 
the  description,  and  confirms  the  opinion,  that  the 
city  of  Jerusalem  occupies  the  same  place  now  that  it 
did  in  the  days  of  Titus ;  only  that  it  is  not  so  large, 
and  does  not  cover  the  whole  of  the  space  which  it 
did  then."  « 

The  royal  sepulchres,  which  Josephus  seems  to 
make  the  northern  boundary  of  the  ancient  city,  lie 
about  a  mile  distant  from  the  present  walls,  towards 
the  north-west.  Of  this  extraordinary  cemetery,  the 
best  account  is  that  furnished  by  Maundrell  and 
Dr.  Clarke. 

The  first  place  to  which  the  traveller  is  conducted, 
on  the  north  side  of  the  city,  is  a  large  grot,  a  little 
without  the  Damascus  gate,  said  to  have  been  for 
some  time  the  residence  of  the  prophet  Jeremiah  ; 
they  pretend  to  shew  as  his  bed  a  shelf  on  the  rock, 
about  eight  feet  from  the  ground ;  and  the  place  is 
held  in  great  veneration  by  both  Turks  and  Jews, 
as  well  as  Christians.  In  Maundrell's  time  it  was 
a  college  of  dervises.  "  The  next  place  we  came  to," 
that  accurate  traveller  proceeds,  "  was  those  famous 
grots  called  the  Sepulchres  of  the  Kings ;  but  for  what 
reason  they  go  by  that  name  is  hard  to  resolve  ;  for  it 
is  certain  none  of  the  kings,  either  of  Israel  or  Judah, 
were  buried  here ;  the  Holy  Scriptures  assigning  other 
places  for  their  sepulchres ;  unless  it  may  be  thought 
perhaps  that  Hezekiah  was  here  interred,  and  that 
these  were  the  sepulchres  of  the  sons  of  David, 
mentioned  2  Chron.  xxxii.  33.  Whoever  was  buried 
here,  this  is  certain,  that  the  place  itself  discovers 

•  Travels  along  the  Mediterranean,  vol  ii.  i-,>.  ,"51— 3o3. 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  87 

so  great  an  expense  both  of  labour  and  treasure,  that 
we  may  well  suppose  it  to  have  been  the  work  of  kings. 
You  approach  to  it  at  the  east  side,  through  an  en. 
trance  cut  out  of  the  natural  rock,  which  admits  you 
into  an  open  court  of  about  forty  paces  square,  cut 
down  into  the  rock,  with  which  it  is  encompassed 
instead  of  walls.  On  the  south  side  of  the  court  is 
a  portico,  nine  paces  long  and  four  broad,  hewn  like- 
wise out  of  the  natural  rock.  This  is  a  kind  of 
architrave  running  along  its  front,  adorned  with 
sculpture  of  fruits  and  flowers,  still  discernible,  but  by 
time  much  defaced.  At  the  end  of  the  portico,  on  the 
left  hand,  you  descend  to  the  passage  into  the  sepul- 
chres. The  door  is  now  so  obstructed  with  stones  and 
rubbish,  that  it  is  a  thing  of  some  difficulty  to  creep 
through  it ;  but  within,  you  arrive  in  a  large  fair 
room,  about  seven  or  eight  yards  square,  cut  out 
of  the  natural  rock.  Its  sides  and  ceiling  are  so  ex- 
actly square,  and  its  angles  so  just,  that  no  architect 
with  levels  and  plummets  could  build  a  room  more 
regular  ;  and  the  whole  is,  so  firm  and  entire,  that 
it  may  be  called  a  chamber  hollowed  out  of  one  piece 
of  marble.  From  this  room  you  pass  into  (I  think) 
six  more,  one  within  another,  all  of  the  same  fabric 
with  the  first.  Of  these,  the  two  innermost  are  deeper 
than  the  rest,  having  a  second  descent  of  about  six  or 
seven  steps  into  them. 

"  In  every  one  of  these  rooms,  except  the  first,  were 
coffins  of  stone  placed  in  niches  in  the  sides  of  the 
chambers.  They  had  been  at  first  covered  with 
handsome  lids,  and  carved  with  garlands ;  but  now 
most  of  them  were  broken  to  pieces  by  sacrilegious 
hands.  The  sides  and  ceiling  of  the  rooms  were  always 
dropping,  with  the  moist  damps  condensing  upon 


PALESTINE;  OR, 

them.  To  remedy  which  nuisance,  and  to  preserve 
these  chambers  of  the  dead  polite  and  clean,  there  was 
in  each  room  a  small  channel  cut  in  the  floor,  which 
served  to  drain  the  drops  that  fall  constantly  into  it. 

"  But  the  most  surprising  thing  belonging  to  these 
subterraneous  chambers  was  their  doors,  of  which 
there  is  only  one  that  remains  hanging,  being  left  as  it 
were  on  purpose  to  puzzle  the  beholders.  It  consisted 
of  a  plank  of  stone  of  about  six  inches  in  thickness, 
and  in  its  other  dimensions  equalling  the  size  of  an 
ordinary  door,  or  somewhat  less.  It  was  carved  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  resemble  a  piece  of  wainscot ;  the 
stone  of  which-  it  was  made,  was  visibly  of  the  same 
kind  with  the  whole  rock ;  and  it  turned  upon  two 
hinges  in  the  nature  of  axles.  These  hinges  were  of 
the  same  entire  piece  of  stone  with  the  door;  and 
were  contained  in  two  holes  of  the  immoveable  rock, 
one  at  the  top,  the  other  at  the  bottom. 

"  From  this  description  it  is  obvious  to  start  a 
question,  how  such  doors  as  these  were  made  ?  whether 
they  were  cut  out  of  the  rock,  in  the  same  place  and 
manner  as  they  now  hang  ?  or  whether  they  were 
brought,  and  fixed  in  their  station  like  other  doors? 
One  of  these  must  be  supposed  to  have  been  done ; 
and  whichsoever  part  we  choose  as  most  probable,  it 
seems  at  first  glance  not  to  be  without  its  difficulty. 
But  thus  much  I  have  to  say  for  the  resolving  of  this 
riddle  (which  is  wont  to  create  no  small  dispute 
amongst  pilgrims),  viz.  that  the  door  which  was  left 
hanging,  did  not  touch  its  lintel  by  at  least  two  inches ; 
so  t,hat  I  believe  it  might  easily  have  been  lifted  up 
and  unhinged.  And  the  doors  which  had  been  thrown 
down,  had  their  hinges  at  the  upper  end  twice  as 
long  as  those  at  the  bottom  ;  which  seems  to  intimate 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  89 

pretty  plainly  by  what  method  this  work  was  accom- 
plished. 

"  From  these  sepulchres  we  returned  towards  the  city 
again,  and  just  by  Herod's  gate  were  shewn  a  grotto  full 
of  filthy  water  and  mire.  This  passes  for  the  dungeon 
in  which  Jeremiah  was  kept  by  Zedekiah,  till  enlarged 
by  the  charity  of  Ebed  Melech,  Jer.  xxxviii." 

Dr.  Clarke's  description  will  supply  the  best  com- 
mentary on  Maundrell's  honest  but  homely  account. 
He  describes  these  sepulchres  as  a  series  of  subter- 
ranean chambers,  forming  a  sort  of  labyrinth,  resem- 
bling the  still  more  wonderful  example  lying  westward 
of  Alexandria  in  Egypt,  by  some  called  the  sepulchres 
of  the  Ptolemies.  "  Each  chamber,"  he  says,  "  con- 
tains a  certain  number  of  receptacles  for  dead  bodies., 
not  being  much  larger  than  our  coffins,  but  having  the 
more  regular  form  of  oblong  parallelograms  ;  thereby 
differing  from  the  usual  appearance  presented  in  the 
sepulchral  crypts  of  this  country,  where  the  soros, 
although  of  the  same  form,  is  generally  of  very  con- 
siderable size,  and  resembles  a  large  cistern.  The 
taste  manifested  in  the  interior  of  these  chambers  seems 
also  to  denote  a  later  period  in  the  history  of  the  arts  : 
the  skill  and  neatness  visible  in  the  carving  is  admir- 
able, and  there  is  much  of  ornament  displayed  in 
several  parts  of  the  work.*  We  observed  also  some 
slabs  of  marble  exquisitely  sculptured :  these  we  had 

*  This  agrees  with  Dr.  Richardson's  brief  but  more  specific 
description,  which  the  reader  may  compare  with  the  above. 
"  The  road  down  to  them  (the  tombs  of  the  kings)  is  cut  in  the 
rock,  and  the  entrance  is  by  a  large  door  also  cut  in  the  rock.  It 
leads  into  a  deep  excavation,  open  above,  about  fifty  feet  long, 
forty  feet  wide,  and  about  twenty  feet  deep.  Heaps  of  sand  and 
earth  are  piled  up  along  the  sides,  and  the  whole  has  much  the 
appearance  of  a  sand-pit.  The  west  end  seems  to  have  been  orna- 


90  PALESTINE;  OR, 

never  seen  In  the  burial-places  before  mentioned. 
The  entrance  is  by  an  open  court,  excavated  in  a  stra- 
tum of  white  limestone,  like  a  quarry.  It  is  a  square 
of  thirty  yards.  Upon  the  western  site  of  this  area 
appears  the  mouth  of  a  cavern,  twelve  yards  wide, 
exhibiting  over  the  entrance  an  architrave  with  a 
beautifully  sculptured  frieze.  Entering  this  cavern, 
and  turning  to  the  left,  a  second  architrave  appears 
above  the  entrance  to  another  cavern,  but  so  near  to 
the  floor  of  the  cave  as  barely  to  admit  the  passage  of 
a  man's  body  through  the  aperture.  We  lighted  some 
wax  tapers,  and  here  descended  into  the  first  cham- 
ber. In  the  sides  of  it  were  other  square  openings, 
like  door-frames,  offering  passages  to  yet  inferior 
chambers.  In  one  of  these  we  found  the  lid  of  a  white 
marble  coffin  (engraved  in  LeBruyn's  Travels,  1725)  ; 
this  was  entirely  covered  with  the  richest  and  most 
beautiful  sculpture ;  but,  like  all  the  other  sculptured 
work  about  the  place,  it  represented  nothing  of  the 
human  figure,  nor  of  any  animal,  but  consisted  en- 
tirely of  foliage  and  flowers,  and  principally  of  the 
leaves  and  branches  of  the  vine. 

"  As  to  the  history  of  this  most  princely  place  of 
burial,  we  shall  find  it  difficult  to  obtain  much  infor- 
mation. That  it  was  not  what  its  name  implies,  is 

mented  with  the  greatest  care.  A  cornice,  with  triglyph,  regulus, 
and  guttae,  passes  along  the  top,  and  the  vine-leaf  mantles  round 
the  decorations.  In  the  south-west  corner,  a  low,  narrow  door 
leads  into  a  series  of  chambers,  in  each  of  which  there  is  a  number 
of  excavations,  cut  in  the  rock,  for  the  reception  of  the  dead,  like 
those  which  we  saw  in  Malta  and  Syracuse,  all  of  which  are  now 
empty,  and  the  place  is  damp  and  disagreeable.  The  innermost 
apartment  is  adorned  above  all  the  rest,  and  has  the  mantling  vine, 
with  clusters  of  grapes,  twined  round  the  pilasters,  and  inscribed  oi« 
the  sarcophagi." 


THE   HOLY  LAND.  91 

very  evident,  because  the  sepulchres  of  the  kings  of 
Judah  were  in  Mount  Zion.  The  most  probable 
opinion  is  maintained  by  Pococke,  who  considered 
it  as  the  sepulchre  of  Helen,  queen  of  Adiabene.  De 
Chateaubriand  has  since  adopted  Pococke's  opinion.* 
Indeed  it  seems  evident,  that,  by  the  royal  caves, 
nothing  more  is  intended  by  Josephus  than  the  regal 
sepulchre  of  Helena  he  had  before  mentioned,  thus 
repeated  under  a  different  appellation."  -|- 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  royal  cemetery 
was  without  the  walls  of  the  ancient  city,  but  at  no 
great  distance  ;  so  that  Jerusalem  must  formerly  have 
extended  towards  the  north,  nearly  a  mile  beyond  the 
modern  town.  With  this  agrees  the  description  given 
by  Josephus  of  the  fourth  quarter  of  the  city.  "  For, 
as  the  city  grew  more  populous,  it  gradually  crept 
beyond  its  own  limits,  and  those  parts  of  it  that  stood 
northward  of  the  Temple,  and  joined  that  hill  to  the 
city,  made  it  considerably  larger  ;  and  caused  that  hill 
which  is  in  number  the  fourth,  and  is  called  Bezetha, 
to  be  inhabited  also.  It  lies  over  against  the  Tower 
of  Antonia,  but  is  divided  from  it  by  a  deep  valley  or 
ditch,  which  was  dug  on  purpose."  ^  Taking  in,  then, 
the  site  of  the  new  town,  or  Caenopolis,  as  Bezetha 

*  This  is  not  quite  correct.  Chateaubriand  mentions  the  opi- 
nion as  a  plausible  conjecture ;  b;it  afterwards  urges  the  text  of 
Josephus,  cited  above,  as  an  objection ;  and,  from  another  passage 
in  the  Jewish  historian,  supposes  the  caverns  to  have  been  the 
sepulchre  of  Herod  the  Tetrarch.  "  Speaking  of  the  wall  which 
Titus  erected  to  press  Jerusalem  still  more  closely  than  before,  he 
says,  that  this  wall,  returning  towards  the  north,  enclosed  the 
sepulchre  of  Herod.  Now  this  is  the  situation  of  the  royal  caverns." 
—Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  108. 

1  See  note  at  p.  83. 

t  He  informs  us,  that  it  was  not  till  the  reign  of  Claudius  that 
this  quarter  began  to  be  enclosed  within  the  walls ;  but  it  must  have 
been  inhabited  1-^ng  before  as  a  suburb. 


92  PALESTINE;  OB, 

was  also  called,  and  that  part  of  Mount  Sion  which  is 
now  without  the  walls,  we  shall  obtain  an  area  cor- 
responding  to  the  account  given  us  by  historians  of 
the  extent  of  the  ancient  city.  Josephus  states  its 
circumference  to  have  been  thirty-three  furlongs,  or 
little  more  than  four  miles  ;  that  is,  nearly  twice  that 
of  the  modern  town. 

Mount  Moriah,  on  which  the  Temple  stood,  was 
originally  an  irregular  hill,  separate  from  Mount  Zion 
and  Acra,  as  well  as  from  Bezetha.  In  order  to  ex- 
tend the  appendages  of  the  Temple  over  an  equal  sur- 
face, and  to  increase  the  area  of  the  summit,  it  became 
necessary  to  support  the  sides,  which  formed  a  square, 
by  immense  works.  The  east  side  bordered  the  valley 
of  Jehoshaphat,  which  was  very  deep.  The  south 
side,  overlooking  a  very  low  spot,  was  faced  from 
top  to  bottom  with  a  strong  wall ;  and  Josephus  assigns 
an  elevation  of  not  less  than  300  cubits  (or  450  feet) 
to  this  part  of  the  Temple ;  so  that  it  was  necessary, 
in  order  to  a  communication  with  Mount  Zion,  to 
erect  a  bridge  across  the  valley.  The  west  side 
looked  towards  Acra ;  the  appearance  of  which,  from 
the  Temple,  is  compared  to  a  semicircle,  or  amphi- 
theatre. On  the  north  side,  an  artificial  ditch  sepa- 
rated the  Temple  from  Bezetha.  The  Tower  of 
Antonia  flanked  the  north-east  corner  of  the  Temple. 
It  was  built  on  the  rock  by  Hircanus  the  First,  but 
was  afterwards  strengthened  and  embellished  by  Herod 
the  Great,  who  named  it  after  his  benefactor,  Mark 
Antony.  That  execrable  but  magnificent  monarch 
is  stated  by  Josephus  to  have  rebuilt  the  second 
Temple.*  According  to  Josephus,  eleven  thousand 

*  There  is  reason  to  suppose  that  the  second  Temple  was  not 
pulled  down,  but  that  Herod  repaired  it,  and  added  considerably 
to  its  extent. 


THE  HOLY   LAND.  93 

labourers  were  employed  on  it  for  nine  years ;  the 
works  were  prodigious,  and  were  not  completed  till 
after  Herod's  death.  To  these  "  buildings  of  the 
Temple,"  which  were  probably  at  the  time  being 
carried  on,  the  disciples  pointed  the  attention  of  our 
Lord,  when  he  said  to  them  in  reply :  "  See  ye  not 
all  these  things  ?  Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  there  shall 
not  be  left  here  one  stone  upon  another  that  shall  not 
be  thrown  down."  *  This  prediction  was  literally 
fulfilled.  When  the  Romans  took  Jerusalem,  Titus 
ordered  his  soldiers  to  dig  up  the  foundations  both  of 
the  city  and  the  Temple ;  and  Terentius  Rufus,  the 
Roman  general,  is  stated  to  have  driven  a  plough-share 
over  the  site  of  the  sacred  edifice.  When  the  caliph 
Omar  took  Jerusalem,  the  spot  had  been  abandoned 
by  the  Christians.  Seid  Eben  Batrik,  an  Arabian 
historian,  relates,  that  the  caliph  applied  to  the  pa- 
triarch Sophronius,  and  inquired  of  him,  what  would 
be  the  most  proper  place  at  Jerusalem  for  building  a 
mosque.  Sophronius  conducted  him  to  the  ruins  of 
Solomon's  Temple.  TLe  caliph  Abd-el-Malek  made 
additions  to  the  buildings,  and  enclosed  the  rock  with 
walls.  His  successor,  the  caliph  El  Oulid,  contributed 
still  more  to  the  embellishment  of  El  Sakhara,  and 
covered  it  with  a  dome  of  copper,  gilt,  taken  from  a 
church  at  Balbec.  The  Crusaders  converted  this  temple 
of  Mahommed  into  a  Christian  sanctuary,  but  Saludin 
restored  it  to  its  original  use.-f- 

THE  MOSQUE  OF  OMAR 

SUCH  is  briefly  tht  history  of  this  splendid  monu- 
ment of  Saracenic  magnificence,  which  the  especial 
good  fortune  of  Dr.  Richardson,  in  being  allon  ~ii  to 

•  Matt  xxiv.  2.  t  Chateaubriard,  voL  U.  p-  U3. 


94  PALESTINE;  OR, 

enter  the  sacred  enclosure,  has  enabled  him  to  de 
scribe.  Laying  aside  his  white  burnouse,  that  he 
might  not  be  detected  to  be  a  Christian  By  his  colours, 
he  put  on  a  black  abba  of  the  Capo  Verde's,  and, 
escorted  by  a  black  interpreter,  ascended  the  southern 
slope  of  Mount  Moriah,  passed  the  house  of  the  cadi, 
and  entered  the  Haram  Schereeff.  "  This,"  con- 
tinues the  doctor,  "  is  the  name  which  is  given  to  the 
whole  space  enclosed  about  the  mosque,  and  is  inter- 
preted to  mean  the  grand  or  noble  retirement  for 
devotion.  Proceeding  forward  a  few  yards,  we  as- 
cended a  flight  of  steps,  and  got  upon  the  Stoa  Sak- 
hara,  an  elevated  platform,  floored  with  marble  all 
round  the  mosque ;  from  the  door  of  which  we  were 
now  distant  but  a  few  paces.  On  our  arrival  at  the 
door,  a  gentle  knock  brought  up  the  sacristan,  who, 
apprized  of  our  arrival,  was  waiting  within  to  receive 
us.  He  demanded,  rather  sternly,  who  we  were  ;  and 
was  answered  by  my  black  conductor  in  tones  not  less 
consequential  than  his  own.  The  door  immediately 
edged  up,  to  prevent,  as  much  as  possible,  the  light 
from  shining  out,  and  we  squeezed  ourselves  in  with  a 
light  and  noiseless  step,  although  there  was  no  person 
near  who  could  be  alarmed  by  the  loudest  sound  of 
our  bare  feet  upon  the  marble  floor.  The  door  was 
no  sooner  shut  than  the  sacristan,  taking  a  couple  of 
candles  in  his  hand,  shewed  us  all  over  the  interior 
of  this  building  ;  pointing,  in  the  pride  of  his  heart,  to 
the  elegant  marble  walls,  the  beautifully-gilded  ceiling, 
the  well  at  which  the  true  worshippers  drink  and 
wash,  with  which  we  also  blessed  our  palates  and 
moistened  our  beards,  the  paltry  reading-desk,  with 
the  ancient  Koran,  the  handsome  columns,  and  the 
green  stone,  with  the  wonderful  nails.  As  soon  as 
we  had  completed  this  circuit,  pulling  a  key  from  his 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  95 

girdle,  he  unlocked  the  door  of  the  railing  which 
separates  the  outer  from  the  inner  part  of  the  mosque, 
which,  with  an  elevation  of  two  or  three  steps,  led  us 
into  the  sacred  recess.  Here  he  pointed  out  the 
patches  of  mosaic  in  the  floor,  and  the  round  flat  stone 
which  the  prophet  carried  on  his  arm  in  battle ;  di- 
rected us  to  introduce  our  hand  through  the  hole 
in  the  wooden  box  to  feel  the  print  of  the  prophet's 
foot,  and  through  the  posts  of  the  wooden  rail  to 
feel  as  well  as  to  see  the  marks  of  the  angel  Gabriel's 
fingers,  into  which  I  carefully  put  my  own,  in  the 
sacred  stone  that  occupies  the  centre  of  the  mosque, 
and  from  which  it  derives  the  name  of  Sakhara, 
or  locked  up ;  (over  it  is  suspended  a  fine  cloth  of 
green  and  red  satin,  but  this  was  so  covered  with 
dust,  that,  but  for  the  information  of  my  guide,  I 
should  not  have  been  able  to  tell  the  composing 
colours ;)  and,  finally,  he  pointed  to  the  door  that 
leads  into  the  small  cavern  below,  of  which  he  bad  not 
the  key.  I  looked  up  to  the  interior  of  the  dome ; 
but  there  being  few  lamps  burning,  the  light  was  not 
sufficient  to  shew  me  any  of  its  beauty,  further  than 
a  general  glance.  The  columns  and  curiosities  were 
counted  over  again  and  again,  the  arches  were  spe- 
cially examined  and  enumerated,  to  be  sure  that  I 
had  not  missed  or  forgotten  any  of  them.  Writing 
would  have  been  an  ungracious  behaviour,  calculated 
to  excite  a  thousand  suspicions,  that  next  day  would 
have  gone  to  swell  the  general  current  of  the  city 
gossip,  to  the  prejudice  both  of  myself  and  my  friend. 
Having  examined  the  adytum,  we  once  more  touched 
the  footstep  of  the  prophet,  and  the  finger-prints  of 
the  angel  Gabriel,  and  descended  the  steps,  over  which 
the  door  was  immediately  secured.  We  viewed  a 
second  time  the  interior  of  the  building,  drank  of  the 


96  PALESTINE;  OR, 

well,  counted  the  remaining  nails  in  the  green  stone, 
as  well  as  the  empty  holes  ;  then,  having  put  a  dollar 
into  the  hands  of  the  sacristan,  which  he  grasped  very 
hard  with  his  fist  while  he  obstinately  refused  it  with 
his  tongue,  we  hied  us  out  at  the  gate  of  Paradise, 
Bab  el  Jenne,  and,  having  made  the  exterior  circuit  of 
the  mosque,  we  passed  by  the  judgment-seat  of  Solo- 
mon, and  descended  from  the  Stoa  Sakhara  by  another 
flight  of  steps  into  the  outer  field  of  this  elegant 
enclosure.  Here  we  put  on  our  shoes,  and  turning  to 
the  left,  walked  through  the  trees,  that  were  but 
thinly  scattered  in  the  smooth  grassy  turf,  to  a  house 
that  adjoins  the  wall  of  the  enclosure,  which  in  this 
place  is  also  the  wall  of  the  city,  and  which  is  said 
to  contain  the  throne  of  King  Solomon.  Here  there 
was  no  admittance ;  and  from  this  we  proceeded  to 
a  stair  which  led  up  to  the  top  of  the  wall,  and  sat 
down  upon  the  stone  on  which  Mahomet  is  to  sit 
at  the  Day  of  Judgement,  to  judge  the  re-imbodied 
spirits  assembled  beneath  him  in  the  valley  of  Jehosha- 
phat.  Descending  from  this  seat  of  tremendous  anti- 
cipation, which,  if  Mahomet  were  made  of  flesh  and 
blood,  would  be  as  trying  to  him  as  his  countenance 
would  be  alarming  to  the  re-imbodied  spirits,  we 
walked  along  the  front  of  El  Aksa,  the  other  mosque, 
which  occupies  the  side,  as  the  Sakhara  does  the 
centre,  of  the  enclosure,  and  arrived  at  another 
fountain,  where  we  again  washed  our  beards  and 
tasted  the  water.  We  had  scarcely  advanced  half 
a  dozen  steps  from  the  cooling  wave,  when  a  voice 
from  the  window  of  the  cadi's  house,  as  it  appeared  to 
me,  called  out,  Who  goes  there  ?  Had  I  been  alone, 
and  so  challenged,  I  should  have  been  puzzled  for 
an  answer,  for  my  tongue  would  instantly  have  be- 
trayed me,  had  I  been  inclined  to  counterfeit ;  but 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  97 

my  sable  attendant  replied,  in  a  tone  of  surly  and 
fearless  confidence,  '  Men,  and  be  d — d  to  you  ! 
what's  yotir  business  ? '  The  call  was  from  some 
one  of  the  santones  of  the  mosque,  of  which  Omar 
Effendi  is  the  head  ;  and  hearing  the  well-known  voice 
of  his  myrmidon,  the  challenger  slunk  into  his  cell, 
and  we  continued  our  walk,  without  further  inter- 
ruption, round  to  the  house  of  the  governor,  where, 
having  made  the  circuit  of  the  Haram  Schereeff,  we 
retraced  our  steps,  passed  out  by  the  gate  at  which 
we  entered,  and  regained  the  house  of  Omar  Effendi. 
Here  I  laid  aside  the  black  abba,  resumed  my  white 
burnouse,  and  walked  into  the  room  as  gravely  as  if 
nothing  had  happened.  The  noble  Turk,  participating 
in  my  joy,  received  me  with  a  smiling  countenance, 
made  me  sit  down  by  his  side,  and  inquired  if  I  had 
seen  the  Sakhara.  I  rejoined  in  the  affirmative  ;  and 
perceiving  that  the  cause  of  my  absence  was  no  secret 
to  those  who  were  now  assembled  around  him,  I  ex- 
pressed my  high  admiration  of  its  beauty,  and  my 
sincere  thanks  to  him  for  having  permitted  me  the 
envied  gratification  of  seeing  what  had  been  refused  to 
the  whole  Christian  world,  during  the  long  period  of 
its  appropriation  to  the  religion  of  the  prophet,  with 
the  exception  of  De  Hayes,  the  ambassador  of  Louis 
the  Thirteenth,  who  did  not  avail  himself  of  the  per- 
mission. 

"  He  next  proceeded  to  examine  me  in  detail  on 
the  different  places  that  I  had  seen ;  and  when  his 
queries  were  exhausted,  I  begged  of  him  to  explain  to 
me  certain  terms  u?ed  by  my  guide,  which  I  did  not 
fully  comprehend,  and  afterwards  to  explain  to  me 
the  interior  of  the  dome.  He  regretted  that  the  want 
of  light  had  prevented  me  from  seeing  it,  and  was  pro- 
ceeding to  supply  the  defect  by  a  verbal  description, 


98  PALESTINE;  OR, 

when  his  brother,  who  was  sitting  on  the  other  side  of 
the  divan,  called  out,  c  Why  don't  you  go  in  during 
the  day  ?'  The  question  electrified  me  with  joy  ;  but 
considering  it  perhaps  as  a  little  rash,  I  looked  at  the 
Capo  Verde  before  making  any  reply,  when  he  speedily 
removed  all  doubt  respecting  his  brother's  prudence, 
by  converting  the  query  into  the  imperative  sanction 
of '  Yes,  go  in  during  the  day.'  This  was  no  sooner 
said  than  cordially  accepted,  and  his  brother  and 
cousin,  each  moving  his  two  fore-fingers  in  a  parallel 
direction,  said  4  Sava,  Sava,  we  shall  go  in  together  as 
a  token  of  friendship  and  respect.'  Several  other  Turks 
did  the  same  ;  for  in  these  countries  the  friendship  of 
the  principal  person  always  ensures  the  officious  and 
often  troublesome  attention  of  his  inferiors  and  de- 
pendents. 

"  Next  day,  having  previously  provided  myself  with 
a  pencil,  which  a  friend  was  kind  enough  to  lend  me, 
1  returned  at  noon  to  the  house  of  the  Capo  Verde, 
which  was  the  time  and  place  fixed  for  our  rendezvous, 
and  immediately,  in  company  with  four  well-dressed, 
long-bearded  Turks,  repaired  to  the  Haram  Schereeff, 
which  we  entered  by  the  same  gate  as  I  had  done  the 
evening  before. 

"  This  sacred  enclosure  is  the  sunny  spot  of  Moslem 
devotion.  There  is  no  sod  like  that  which  covers  the 
ample  area  of  its  contents,  and  no  mosque  at  all  com- 
parable to  the  Sakhara.  Here  the  god  of  day  pours 
his  choicest  rays  in  a  flood  of  light,  that  streaming  all 
round  upon  the  marble  pavement,  mingles  its  softened 
tints  in  the  verdant  turf,  and  leaves  nothing  to  com- 
pare with  or  desire  beyond.  It  seems  as  if  the  glory 
of  the  Temple  still  dwelt  upon  the  mosque,  and  the 
glory  of  Solomon  still  covered  the  site  of  his  temple. 
On  the  same  spot  and  under  the  same  sun  the 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  99 

memory  conjures  up  a  thousand  delightful  remem- 
brances, and  contemplates  in  review  the  glorious  house, 
the  dedication  and  prayer  of  the  wisest  of  kings, 
spreading  forth  his  hands  in  the  midst  of  his  people, 
the  fire  descending  upon  the  burnt-offering  and  the 
sacrifice,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  filling  the  house  ; 
xdth  the  people  bowing  down  with  their  faces  to  the 
pavement,  and  worshipping  and  praising  the  Lord, 
'  for  he  is  good,  for  his  mercy  endureth  for  ever.'  The 
spectator  forgets  that  it  is  a  house  of  foreign  devotion, 
and  feels  as  if,  in  the  radiant  opalescence  of  its  light, 
an  inviting  ray  was  sent  forth  to  the  heart  of  every 
returning  Israelite  to  this  ancient  centre  of  prayer. 
There  is  no  reflected  light  like  the  light  from  the 
Sakhara :  like  the  glorious  sun  itself,  it  stands  alone  in 
the  world,  and  there  is  but  one  spot  on  earth,  where 
all  things  typical  were  done  away,  that  sinks  a  deeper 
interest  into  the  heart  of  the  Christian. 

"  The  dimensions  of  this  noble  enclosure,  as  fur- 
nished me  by  the  cousin  of  Omar  Effendi,  are,  in 
length,  six  hundred  and  sixty  peeks  of  Constantinople, 
that  is,  about  one  thousand  four  hundred  and  eighty- 
nine  feet,  measuring  from  the  arch  of  prayer  in  El 
Aksa  to  the  Bab  el  Salam,  or  gate  of  peace,  which 
is  the  name  of  the  gate  on  the  opposite  end.  In 
breadth  it  is  four  hundred  and  forty  peeks,  or  nine 
hundred  and  ninety -five  feet,  measuring  from  Allah 
dien  to  the  gate  Beseri  on  the  west. 

"  This  spacious  square  is  enclosed  on  the  east  and 
on  the  south  by  the  wall  of  the  city ;  through  which 
there  is  only  one  gate,  and  that  leads  into  El  Aksa  on 
the  south.  There  were  formerly  two  gates  on  the 
east  side,  and  the  gate  of  Tobet,  Bab  el  Tobe,  both  of 
which  are  now  built  up.  The  other  two  sides  of  th« 


ioo  PALESTINE;  OR, 

square  are  in  the  town.  The  west  side  is  enclosed 
by  a  line  of  Turkish  houses,  and  is  entered  by  live 
gates ;  the  north  side  is  enclosed  partly  by  a  wall,  and 
partly  by  Turkish  houses,  and  is  entered  by  three 
gates.  Having  passed  in  by  either  of  these  gates,  the 
visitor  enters  what  may  be  called  the  outer  court 
of  the  Haram  Schereeff,  which  is  a  fine  smooth,  level 
space  all  round  the  Stoa  Sakhara,  falling  with  a  gentle 
slope  towards  the  east,  and  covered  with  a  thick  sward 
of  grass,  with  orange,  olive,  cypress,  and  other  trees 
scattered  over  it  in  different  places,  but  no  where 
forming  a  thicket. 

"  In  the  sacred  retirement  of  this  charming  spot, 
the  followers  of  the  prophet  delight  to  saunter  or 
repose  as  in  the  Elysium  of  their  devotion,  and  arrayed 
in  the  gorgeous  costume  of  the  East,  add  much  to 
the  beauty,  the  interest,  and  solemn  stillness  of  the 
scene,  which  they  seem  loth  to  quit  either  in  going  to 
or  coming  from  the  house  of  prayer.  In  the  midst  of 
this  court,  but  nearer  to  the  west  and  south  sides, 
there  is  an  elevated  platform,  which  is  about  four 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  square,  and  is  called  Stoa  Sak- 
hara ;  some  parts  of  it  are  higher  than  others,  as  the 
ground  on  which  it  is  erected  is  more  or  less  elevated, 
but  it  may  be  said  to  average  about  twelve  or  fourteen 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  grassy  court.  It  is  acces- 
sible on  all  sides  by  a  number  of  spacious  stairs,  that 
appear  to  have  answered  originally  to  exterior  gates  of 
entrance  into  the  Haram  Schereeff.  There  are  three 
on  the  west  side,  two  on  the  north,  one  on  the  east 
side,  and  two  on  the  south :  that  on  the  east  fronts 
the  obstructed  golden  gate ;  it  i*  more  worn  than  any 
of  the  rest,  and  much  in  want  of  repair.  These  stairs 
are  all  surmounted  at  the  top  with  lofty  arches  ;  some 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  101 

of  them  have  four  arches,  so  that  one  stair  leads  to 
four  entrances  into  the  Stoa  Sakhara,  and  has  a  most 
magnificent  and  triumphal  appearance. 

"  The  platform,  or  Stoa  Sakhara,  is  paved  with  fine 
polished  marble,  chiefly  white,  with  a  shade  of  blue ; 
some  of  the  stones  look  very  old,  are  curiously  wrought 
and  carved,  and  have  evidently  belonged  to  a  former 
building.  There  are  no  trees  on  the  Stoa  Sakhara, 
but  there  are  tufts  of  grass  in  many  places,  from  the 
careless  manner  in  which  it  is  kept,  which  afford  great 
relief  to  the  eye  from  the  intense  glare  of  light  and 
heat  reflected  from  the  marble  pavement.  Round 
the  edge  of  the  Stoa  Sakhara,  there  are  numbers  of 
small  houses  ;  five  of  which  on  the  north  side  are 
occupied  by  santones  or  religious  ascetics ;  one  on 
the  south  is  for  the  doctors  of  the  law  to  hold  their 
consultations  in  ;  one  on  the  west  for  containing  the 
oil  for  painting  the  brick  and  tile  for  the  repair  of  the 
Sakhara ;  the  rest  are  places  of  private  prayer  for  the 
different  sects  of  Mussulmans  or  believers,  which  is 
the  meaning  of  the  word. 

"  But  the  great  beauty  of  the  platform,  as  well  as 
of  the  whole  enclosure,  is  the  Sakhara  itself,  which 
is  nearly  in  the  middle  of  the  platform,  and  but  a 
little  removed  from  the  south  side  ;  it  is  a  regular 
octagon  of  about  sixty  feet  a  side,  and  is  entered  by 
four  spacious  doors.  Bab  el  Garbi  on  the  west ;  Bab 
el  Shergy,  or  Bab  Nebbe  Daoud,  or  gate  of  the  prophet 
David  on  the  east ;  Bab  el  Kabla,  or  gate  towards 
which  the  Mussulman  turns  his  face  in  prayer,  on  the 
south  ;  and  Bab  el  Jenne,  or  gate  of  the  garden,  on 
tbe  north.  Each  of  these  doors  is  adorned  with  a 
porch,  which  projects  from  the  line  of  the  building, 
and  rises  considerably  up  on  the  wall.  The  lower 

G2 


102  PALESTINE;  OR, 

story  of  the  Sakhara  is  faced  with  marble,  the  blocks 
of  which  are  of  different  sizes,  and  many  of  them 
evidently  resting  on  the  side  or  narrowest  surface. 
They  look  much  older  on  a  close  inspection  than  they 
do  when  viewed  from  a  distance,  and  their  disintegra- 
tion indicates  a  much  greater  age  than  the  stones 
of  the  houses,  said  to  have  been  built  in  the  time 
of  the  mother  of  Constantine  the  Great ;  and  pro- 
bably both  they  and  the  aged  stones  in  the  flooring  on 
the  Stoa  Sakhara,  formed  part  of  the  splendid  temple 
that  was  destroyed  by  the  Romans.  Each  side  of 
the  Sakhara  is  pannelled  ;  the  centre  stone  of  one 
pannel  is  square,  of  another  it  is  octagonal,  and  thus 
they  alternate  all  round :  the  sides  of  each  pannel 
run  down  the  angles  of  the  building  like  a  plain 
pilaster,  and  give  the  appearance  as  if  the  whole  side 
of  the  edifice  was  set  in  a  frame.  The  marble  is 
white  with  a  considerable  tinge  of  blue,  and  square 
pieces  of  blue  marble  are  introduced  in  different  places, 
so  as  to  give  the  whole  a  pleasing  effect.  There  are 
no  windows  in  the  marble  part  or  lower  story  of  the 
building.  The  upper  story  of  this  elegant  building 
is  faced  with  small  tiles  of  about  eight  or  nine  inches 
square ;  they  are  painted  of  different  colours,  white, 
yellow,  green,  and  blue,  but  blue  prevails  throughout. 
They  are  covered  with  sentences  from  the  Koran  ; 
though  of  this  fact  I  could  not  be  certain,  on  account 
of  the  height,  and  my  imperfect  knowledge  of  the 
character :  there  are  seven  well-proportioned  windows 
on  each  side,  except  where  the  porch  rises  high,  and 
then  there  are  only  six,  one  of  which  is  generally 
built  up,  so  that  only  five  are  effective.  The  whole 
is  extremely  light  and  beautiful ;  and  from  the  mixture 
of  the  soft  colours  above,  and  the  pannelled  work  and 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  103 

blue  and  white  tinge  of  the  marble  below,  the  eye  is 
more  delighted  with  beholding  it  than  any  building  I 
ever  saw. 

"  The  admiration  excited  by  the  appearance  of  the 
exterior  was  not  diminished  by  a  view  of  the  interior, 
the  arrangements  of  which  are  so  managed  as  to 
preserve  throughout  the  octagonal  form,  agreeably  to 
the  ground  plan  of  the  building.  The  inside  of  the 
wall  is  white,  without  any  ornament ;  and  I  confess 
I  am  one  of  those  who  think  ornaments  misplaced  in 
a  house  of  prayer,  or  any  thing  tending  to  distract  the 
mind  when  it  comes  there  to  hold  converse  with  its 
God.  The  floor  is  of  grey  marble,  and  was  then  much 
covered  with  dust,  from  some  repairs  that  were  exe- 
cuting on  the  dome. 

"  A  little  within  the  door  of  the  Bab  el  Jenne. 
or  west  door,  there  is  a  flat  polished  slab  of  green 
marble,  which  forms  part  of  the  floor.  It  is  about 
fourteen  inches  square,  and  was  originally  pierced 
by  eighteen  nails,  which  would  have  kept  their  place, 
but  for  the  amazing  chronometrical  virtues  with  which 
they  were  endowed.  For  such  is  their  magical  temper, 
that  they  either  hold  or  quit,  according  to  the  times ; 
and  on  the  winding  up  of  each  great  and  cardinal 
event,  a  nail  has  regularly  been  removed  to  mark  its 
completion  ;  and  so  many  of  these  signal  periods  have 
already  rolled  by,  each  clenched  by  an  accompanying 
nail,  that  now  only  three  and  a  half  remain,  fourteen 
and  a  half  having  been  displaced  in  a  supernatural 
manner.  I  was  anxious  to  learn  what  great  event 
had  drawn  the  first  nail,  the  second,  the  third,  and 
so  onward  in  succession  ;  whether  they  had  taken 
their  departure  one  at  a  time,  or  had  fled  in  divided 
portions,  as  seems  to  be  the  fashion  now ;  or  whether 
the  sly  disappearance  of  half  a  nail  marked  the  silent 


104  PALESTINE;  OK, 

course  of  time  in  the  accomplishment  of  half  an  event, 
as  that  of  a  whole  nail  indicated  the  consummation  of 
one  whole  event  But  on  all  these  important  points  I 
cotild  learn  nothing ;  neither  could  any  one  inform  me 
when  the  last  half  nail  took  its  flight,  nor  when  the 
other  half  was  expected  to  follow.  It  is  an  equally 
recondite  matter,  known  only  to  the  wise  in  wonders, 
how  the  nails  got  into  the  stone,  as  how  they  get 
out  of  it.  Thus  much,  however,  the  hierophants 
vouchsafed  to  communicate,  that,  when  all  the  nails 
shall  have  made  their-  escape,  all  the  events  con- 
tained in  the  great  map  of  time  will  then  have  been 
unfolded,  and  that  there  will  then  be  an  end  of  the 
world,  or  nothing  but  a  dull  monotonous  succession  till 
the  final  consummation  of  all  things.  My  conductor 
also  gravely  informed  me,  that  underneath  this  stone, 
Solomon,  the  son  of  David,  lies  buried.  All  of  which 
solemn  nonsense  it  was  proper  for  me  to  hear,  with- 
out appearing  to  doubt  either  the  information,  or  the 
source  from  which  it  came. 

"  The  well  at  the  inside  of  the  Bab  el  Garbe,  the 
reading-desk,  and  the  ancient  copy  of  the  Koran, 
have  been  already  mentioned ;  to  which  I  may  add 
the  awkward  narrow  wooden  staircase  that  leads  to 
the  top  of  the  building :  and  these  comprise  all  the 
objects  worthy  of  notice  that  occur  between  the  wall 
and  the  first  row  of  columns  within  the  Sakhara. 

"  There  are  twenty-four  columns  in  the  first  row, 
placed  parallel  with  the  eight  sides  of  the  building, 
three  opposite  to  each  side,  so  as  still  to  preserve  the 
octagonal  form.  They  are  all  of  the  same  kind  of 
marble,  but  rather  of  a  darker  hue  than  that  on  the 
exterior  of  the  building.  Eight  of  them  are  large 
square  plain  columns,  of  no  order  of  architecture,  and 
all  placed  opposite  to  the  eight  entering  angles  of 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  105 

the  edifice ;  they  are  indented  on  the  inner  side,  so 
that  they  furnish  an  acute  termination  to  the  octa- 
gonal lines  within.  Between  every  two  of  the  square 
columns  there  are  two  round  columns,  well  propor- 
tioned, and  resting  on  a  base.  They  are  from  eighteen 
to  twenty  feet  high,  with  a  sort  of  Corinthian  capital. 
I  did  not  remark  that  it  was  gilt,  which,  had  it  been 
the  case,  I  think  I  must  have  done,  having  specially 
noted  that  the  leaf  is  raised,  and  turned  over,  but 
that  I  did  not  consider  it  the  true  leaf  of  the  Corin- 
thian capital.  A  large  square  plinth  of  marble  ex- 
tends from  the  top  of  the  one  column  to  the  other,  and 
above  it  there  are  constructed  a  number  of  arches  all 
round.  The  abutments  of  two  separate  arches  rest 
upon  the  plinths  above  the  capital  of  each  column,  so 
that  there  are  three  arches  opposed  to  each  side  of 
the  building,  making  twenty -four  in  the  row  of  co- 
lumns. The  arches  are  slightly  pointed,  and  support 
the  inner  end  of  the  roof,  or  ceiling,  which  is  of  wood 
plastered,  and  ornamented  in  compartments  of  the 
octagonal  form,  and  highly  gilt ;  the  outer  end  of  the 
roof  rests  upon  the  walls  of  the  building.  The  inter- 
columnal  space  is  vacant.  Not  so  in  the  inner  circle 
of  columns,  to  which  we  now  proceed.  They  are 
about  two  paces  from  the  outer  row,  and  are  only 
sixteen  in  number.  There  are  four  large  square 
columns,  one  opposed  to  each  alternate  angle  of  the 
building,  and  three  small  round  columns  between  each 
of  them.  Their  base  rests  upon  an  elevation  of  the 
floor,  and  they  are  capitalled  and  surmounted  with 
arches,  the  same  as  in  the  outer  row :  this  inner  row 
of  columns  supports  the  dome.  The  intercolumnal 
space  is  occupied  by  a  high  iron  railing,  so  that  all 
entrance  to  the  holy  stone,  or  centra  of  the  mosque,  is 


106  PALESTINE;  on, 

completely  shut  up,  except  by  one  door,  which  is  open 
only  at  certain  hours  for  the  purposes  of  devotion. 

"  This  central  compartment  is  elevated  about  three 
feet  above  the  outer  floor,  and  the  ascent  to  it  is  by  a 
flight  of  four  steps.  On  entering  it  along  with  the 
Turks,  we  found  there  several  rather  shabbily-dressed 
ill-looking  people  engaged  in  their  devotions.  One  of 
them  was  a  female,  of  a  mean  rustic  appearance,  and 
so  extremely  stupid,  that  she  was  praying  with  her 
face  to  the  west ;  which  so  provoked  one  of  my  con- 
ductors, that  he  went  up  and  roused  her  from  her 
knees,  and  having  given  her  a  hearty  scolding,  turned 
her  round  and  made  her  pray  with  her  face  to  the 
south,  whibh  she  very  obediently  did  without  any 
demur.  Within  this  row  of  columns  the  floor  is  also 
paved  with  marble,  and  the  blue  and  white  columns 
are  so  mixed,  as  in  some  places  to  form  a  sort  of  mosaic. 
Proceeding  on  to  the  right,  we  came  to  a  round  flat 
stone  of  polished  marble,  which  is  raised  high,  and 
attached  to  the  side  of  one  of  the  square  columns. 
This  stone,  I  was  informed,  the  prophet  carried  on 
his  arm  in  battle.  It  is  a  ponderous  and  a  very  un- 
likely shield.  It  is  broken  through  the  middle,  pro- 
bably from  a  blow  aimed  at  its  master  by  an  infidel 
hand.  Opposite  to  this,  and  on  the  end  of  the  holy 
stone,  which  I  am  about  to  describe,  there  is  a  high, 
square  wooden  box,  with  an  opening  on  one  side  of  it, 
large  enough  to  admit  the  hand  to  feel  the  print  of 
Mahomet's  foot,  which  he  left  there,  either  when  he 
prayed  or  when  he  flew  up  to  heaven.  I  put  in  my 
hand  and  touched  it,  to  stroke  my  face  and  beard,  as 
I  saw  the  Mussulmans  do.  It  is  so  completely  covered 
that  it  cannot  be  seen. 

"  But  that  to  which  this  temple  owes  both  its  name 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  107 

and  existence,  is  a  large  irregular  oblong  mass  of  stone 
that  occupies  the  centre  of  the  mosque.  It  is  a  mass 
of  compact  limestone,  the  same  as  that  of  the  rock  on 
which  the  city  stands,  and  of  the  other  mountains 
about  Jerusalem ;  and  if  I  had  not  been  told  that  it 
is  a  separate  stone,  I  should  have  imagined  it  a  part  of 
the  native  rock  that  had  been  left  unremoved,  when 
the  other  parts  were  levelled  down  for  the  foundation 
of  the  building.  It  rises  highest  towards  the  south- 
west corner,  and  falls  abruptly  at  the  end  where  are 
the  prints  of  the  prophet's  foot.  It  is  irregular  on  the 
upper  surface,  the  same  as  when  it  was  broken  from 
the  quarry.  It  is  enclosed  all  round  with  a  wooden 
railing  about  four  feet  high,  and  which  in  every  place 
is  nearly  in  contact  with  the  stone.  I  have  already 
mentioned  that  there  is  a  large  cover  of  variously, 
coloured  satin  suspended  above  it,  and  nothing  can  be 
held  in  greater  veneration  than  the  Hadjr  el  Sakhara, 
or  the  locked-up  stone.  Under  it  there  is  an  apart- 
ment dug  in  the  solid  rock,  which  is  entered  by  a  stair 
that  opens  to  the  south-east.  But  into  this  excavation 
I  never  was  admitted,  although  I  was  four  times 
in  the  mosque,  and  went  there  twice  with  the  express 
assurance  that  I  should  be  shown  into  it.  However, 
when  I  arrived,  the  key  was  always  wanting ;  and 
when  the  keeper  of  it  was  sought  for,  he  never  could 
be  found.  They  assured  me,  however,  that  it  was 
very  small,  and  that  it  contained  nothing  but  robes ; 
and  Ali  Bey,  who  having  professed  himself  a  Mussul- 
man, visited  this  excavation,  says,  that  it  is  an  irregu- 
lar square  of  about  eighteen  feet  in  circumference,  and 
eight  feet  high  in  the  middle ; — that  in  the  bottom 
it  contains  two  marble  tablets,  one  of  which  is  called 
the  place  of  David,  the  other  the  place  of  Solomon  ; 
two  niches,  the  one  of  which  is  called  the  place  of 


108  PALESTINE;  OR, 

Abraham,  the  other  the  place  of  Gabriel ;  and,  lastly, 
a  stone  table,  Makam  el  Hodar,  which  is  rendered  by 
him  the  place  of  Elias ;  but  the  name  Hodar  was 
always  translated  to  me  St.  George,  as  Maharab  el 
Hodar,  the  Arch  of  St.  George  ;  and  though  the  Mus- 
sulmans frequently  confound  the  two,  yet,  I  believe, 
they  never  give  Elias  the  name  of  Hodar. 

"  However,  this  stone  has  other  weighty  pretensions 
to  the  veneration  of  the  Mahomedans  than  the  print 
of  the  angel  Gabriel's  fingers  or  the  prophet's  foot ; 
for,  like  the  Palladium  of  ancient  Troy,  it  fell  from 
heaven,  and  lighted  on  this  very  spot,  at  the  time  that 
prophecy  commenced  in  Jerusalem.  Here  the  ancient 
prophets  sat,  and  prophesied,  and  prayed ;  and  aa 
long  as  the  spirit  of  vaticination  continued  to  visit  the 
holy  men  in  the  holy  city,  the  stone  remained  quiet 
for  their  accommodation  ;  but  when  prophecy  ceased, 
and  the  persecuted  seers  girt  up  their  loins  and  fled, 
the  stone,  out  of  sympathy,  wished  to  accompany 
them ;  but  the  angel  Gabriel  interposed  his  friendly 
aid,  and,  grasping  the  stone  with  a  mighty  hand, 
arrested  its  flight,  and  nailed  it  to  its  rocky  bed  till 
the  arrival  of  Mahomet ;  who,  horsed  on  the  lightning's 
wing,  flew  thither  from  Mecca,  joined  the  society  of 
70,000  ministering  angels,  and,  having  offered  up  his 
devotions  to  the  throne  of  God,  fixed  the  stone  im- 
moveably  in  this  holy  spot,  around  which  the  Kalif 
Omar  erected  the  present  elegant  structure. 

"  Having  satisfied  ourselves  with  the  interior  and 
lower  part  of  the  mosque,  we  ascended  the  narrow  and 
comfortless  wooden  stair  to  the  top  of  it;  and  in 
our  ascent,  had  a  full  view  of  the  immense  wooden 
beams  that  compose  the  ceiling.  The  roof  of  the 
mosque  is  covered  with  lead,  from  the  wall  to  the 
dome.  It  slopes  gently,  so  that  we  walked  along 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  109 

it  with  ease.    Yhe  walls  rise  above  it  about  seven  feet, 
so  that  no  part  of  the  roof  is  visible  from  the  ground 
below.     The  wall  of  the  dome  is  round,  and  the  sides 
of  the  perpendicular  part  of  it  are  faced  up  with  blue, 
green,  white,  and  yellow  painted  tiles,  the  same  as  the 
upper  part  of   the  building.     Blue  is  the  prevailing 
colour*     It  is   divided   into   alternate    compartments 
of  close  and  reticulated  work;    and  is  covered  in  at 
the  top  with  lead,  the  same  as  the  roof  of  the  building. 
It  was  then  undergoing  repair.     The  workmen  were 
taking  out  the  old  bricks,  which  were  much  decayed, 
and  introducing  new  ones,  which  were  painted  after  a 
different    pattern;    but    all   of  us  thought  that   the 
old  work  was  better,  and  the  patterns  handsomer  than 
the  new.     The  scaffolding  erected  for  these  repairs  so 
obstructed  the  admission  of  light  into  the  interior  of 
the  dome,  that  I  never  had  a  satisfactory  view  of  it. 
From  what  I  saw,  it  exhibited  a  faint,  but  elegant 
display  of  various  colours ;  and  I  was  informed  that  it 
was  excessively  brilliant,   and  was  ornamented  with 
different  kinds  of  precious  stones.     The  height  of  the 
dome  is  about  ninety  feet,    and  the  diameter  about 
forty  feet.     From  the  roof  of  the  mosque  there  is 
a   delightful  view   of   the    city  and    scenery   about 
Jerusalem,  in  the  contemplation  of  which  we  remained 
about  an  hour. 

"  Leaving  the  Sakhara,  we  proceeded  to  the  Mosque 
el  Aksa,  the  name  given  to  the  other  house  of  devo- 
tion contained  within  this  sacred  enclosure;  though 
a  very  fine  and  elegant  mosque  in  the  interior,  it 
is  greatly  inferior  to  it,  both  in  beauty  and  sanctity. 
It  is  also  called  the  Mosque  of  the  Women,  because  it 
contains  a  separate  place  assigned  them  for  prayer ; 
and  Djamai  Omar,  or  Mosque  of  the  Kalif  Omar,  who 
used  to  pray  in.  it.  The  place  in  which  he  performed 

PART    I.  H 


no  PALESTINE;  OR, 

his  devotions  is  still  exhibited.  This  was  anciently  £ 
church,  and  in  the  Christian  days  of  the  Holy  City 
was  called  the  Church  of  the  Presentation,  meaning 
thereby,  of  the  infant  Jesus;  or  of  the  Purification, 
meaning  thereby,  of  the  Virgin  Mary.  A  narrow 
aisle  on  the  right,  off  the  body  of  the  church,  is  shewn 
as  the  place  where  she  presented  her  son  in  the 
temple.  The  mosque  is  in  the  form  of  a  long  square, 
and  would  answer  very  well  for  a  Christian  church  at 
present,  were  it  not  for  the  superabundance  of  columns 
in  the  anterior,  which  assimilate  it  more  to  an  Egyp- 
tian temple. 

"  The  Mosque  El  Aksa  lies  to  the  south  of  the 
Sakhara,  and  close  to  the  southern  wall  of  the 
enclosure,  which  is  also  the  wall  of  the  city.  It  is 
nearly  opposite  to  the  Kob  el  Kebla,  which  is  by  far 
the  finest  door  of  the  Sakhara.  Between  the  two 
there  is  a  beautiful  fountain,  called  the  orange  foun- 
tain, from  a  clump  of  orange  trees  which  grow  near 
it.  It  has  seven  arches  in  front,  which  are  slightly 
pointed  ;  and  three  square  abutments,  which  support 
the  front  of  the  building,  look  like  so  many  square 
columns.  These  arches  cover  a  piazza,  which  affords 
an  agreeable  walk  all  along  the  front  of  the  building. 
The  door  of  entrance  is  in  the  centre,  and  opens  into 
the  middle  aisle  of  the  mosque,  which  is  remarkably 
clean  and  spacious,  and  covered  with  mats.  The 
ceiling  is  flat,  and  supported  by  three  rows  of  columns 
on  each  hand.  The  two  middle  rows  are  round,  the 
others  are  square,  and  all  are  surmounted  by  arches, 
as  in  the  Sakhara,  and  coarsely  finished.  Elegance 
is  not  the  boast  of  this  house  of  Moslem  devotion. 
Three  large  lamps  suspended  from  the  ceiling,  with 
three  burners  in  each,  served  to  light  it  up  during 
the  night.  The  apartment  for  the  females  is  enclosed 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  Ill 

on  the  left.  At  the  further  end  of  the  aisle,  fronting 
the  door,  there  is  a  large  pulpit,  which  is  highly 
ornamented  with  pieces  of  variegated  marble,  as  if  it 
had  formed  part  of  a  Christian  altar,  and  adorned  with 
two  marble  columns  on  each  side,  and  arched  over 
the  top  like  an  arcade.  Standing  immediately  in  front 
of  this,  we  are  directly  under  the  Kob  el  Aksa,  or 
dome  of  El  Aksa,  which  is  supported  by  four  large 
columns,  surmounted  by  arches,  as  in  the  Sakhara. 
The  dome  is  painted  of  different  colours,  and  lighted 
by  windows  in  the  side.  The  glass  in  these  windows 
is  also  painted  blue,  yellow,  red,  and  green.  The 
light  admitted  through  such  a  medium  is  softened  and 
delightful,  and  calculated  to  inspire  sentiments  suited 
to  a  place  of  worship.  To  the  right,  near  the  pulpit, 
there  is  a  small  place  enclosed  with  a  wooden  rail,  and 
covered  with  green  cushions,  for  the  cadi.  Near 
to  this  there  is  a  separate  place  for  the  singers. 
Up  a  narrow  stone  stair,  I  was  shewn  a  small  room 
appropriated  to  the  devotions  of  the  Sultan;  but  the 
state  of  disrepair  in  which  it  then  was,  shews  that  the 
sublime  potentate,  or  his  representative,  seldom  visits 
this  place  of  prayer.  On  the  left,  in  a  direct  line  from 
the  pulpit,  there  is  a  long  uncomfortable  vault, 
in  which  the  Kalif  Omar  used  to  pray.  Between 
this  and  the  apartment  built  off  for  the  females,  in 
a  recess  formed  by  building  up  the  space  between  two 
of  the  columns,  there  is  a  niche  in  the  wall  at  which 
the  Mussulmans  pray,  called  the  door  of  mercy.  We 
have  now  completed  the  examination  of  the  interior  of 
the  Mosque  El  Aksa ;  and  here  my  guide  kneeling 
down,  performed  his  devotions,  having  requested  me 
to  stand  beside  him  till  he  had  done,  when  we  im- 
mediately sallied  out  of  the  mosque,  and  entered  into 
some  of  the  contiguous  small  houses,  where  the  work- 


112  PALESTINE;  OK, 

men  were  engaged  in  mixing  the  lime,  and  preparing 
the  plaster  for  the  repair  of  the  Sakhara.  Though  I 
was  escorted  by  some  of  the  principal  Turks  of  the 
Holy  City,  yet  I  easily  perceived  their  anxiety  that 
I  should  be  as  little  observed  as  possible  ;  and  although 
some  of  the  Moslems  whom  I  met,  condescended  to 
salute  me  in  a  friendly  manner,  yet  others  looked 
perfectly  savage,  and  one  of  them  even  remonstrated 
with  the  chamberlain  of  Omar  Effendi  for  bringing  me 
there. 

"  Here  I  would  beg  leave  to  remark,  that  if  this 
mosque,  El  Aksa,  be  built  on  the  site  of  Solomon's 
temple,  the  Sakhara  cannot  occupy  the  site  of  the 
Holy  of  Holies  ;  for  the  two  are  at  a  greater  distance 
from  each  other  than  the  whole  length  of  Solomon's 
temple,  which  was  only  ninety  feet.  The  door  of 
mercy  probably  occupies  the  place  of  the  mercy-seat ; 
and  the  two  large  granite  columns  were  probably 
exhibited  in  the  days  of  its  Romanism,  as  the  succes- 
sors of  the  two  brazen  pillars,  Jachin  and  Boaz,  that 
ornamented  the  porch  of  the  temple  of  Solomon. 

"  From  El  Aksa  we  proceeded  to  the  south-east 
corner  of  the  enclosure  ;  where  the  keeper  having 
unlocked  the  door,  we  descended  a  flight  of  steps,  and 
came  into  a  small  square  chamber,  Avhich  is  called  the 
grotto  of  Sidn  Aisa,  or  grotto  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  It 
contains  the  Sereer  Sidn  Aisa,  the  bed  or  tomb  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  Avhich  is  in  the  form  of  a  sarcophagus, 
with  a  small  round  pillar  erected  on  each  angle, 
supporting  a  canopy  above.  The  pillars  are  jagged  or 
fretted  both  at  top  and  bottom,  and  plain  and  polished 
in  the  middle.  The  bed  or  sarcophagus  is  of  the 
common  compact  limestone  of  the  country.  It  could 
never  have  been  a  bath,  for  it  is  not  capacious  enough 
to  hold  an  adequate  depth  of  water,  and  it  is  ctit 


THE  HOLY   LAND.  113 

and  formed  exactly  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
excavations  for  the  reception  of  the  bodies  in  what  are 
called  the  tombs  of  the  kings  of  Judah.  The  columns 
are  of  variegated  marble,  and  are  apparently  of  Roman 
workmanship,  and  seem  to  have  been  erected  with  the 
view  of  supporting  a  curtain  to  be  drawn  or  withdrawn 
according  as  the  object  which  it  covered  was  to  be 
seen  or  concealed.  Why  is  this  square  chamber  called 
the  grotto  of  the  Lord  Jesus  ?  and  why  is  this  stone 
trough  called  the  bed  of  the  Lord  Jesus  ?  These 
queries  shall  afterwards  be  considered.  In  the  same 
chamber  there  were  three  other  stone  troughs  of 
a  similar  description,  but  without  any  columns,  which 
were  severally  denominated  the  beds  of  Mary,  of 
John,  and  of  Zacharias  ;  the  mother,  the  forerunner, 
and  the  father  of  the  forerunner  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ :  the  three  persons  most  particularly  indicated 
in  the  New  Testament  as  connected  with  the  appear- 
ance of  the  Messiah.  And,  when  we  consider  that 
Jerusalem,  in  the  early  ages  of  Christianity,  was 
entirely  a  Christian  city,  perhaps  we  do  not  go  too  far 
in  stating,  that  this  grotto  and  these  stone  troughs 
were  once  exhibited  by  the  religious  hierophants,  as 
the  Holy  Sepulchre,  and  the  others  as  the  tombs  of  the 
different  individuals  whose  names  they  bear.  When 
the  Saracens  captured  the  city,  they  took  the  Christian 
Church  of  the  Purification,  the  grotto  of  Sidn  Aisa, 
retained  the  tombs  that  they  found  within,  and  called 
them  by  the  names  which  the  Christians  had  given 
them,  as  the  Turks  still  continue  to  do. 

"  From  the  grotto  of  Sidn  Aisa,  we  descended 
another  flight  of  steps,  and  came  into  what  is 
called  the  Berca  Solymon, — a  subterranean  colonnade, 
raised  to  support  the  lower  edge  of  the  enclosure 
called  Haram  Schereeff  and  a  small  superincumbent 


114  PALESTINE;  OR, 

building,  appropriated  for  the  devotion  of  the  sect 
Ilumbali.  The  tops  of  the  columns  are  surmounted 
by  arches,  the  same  as  those  in  the  Sakhara  and  El 
Aksa.  The  columns  are  about  four  feet  and  a  half 
square,  and  consist  of  three  stones  each  ;  each  stone  is 
about  five  feet  long,  and  is  bevelled  at  the  ends  and  at 
the  corners,  so  that  the  joinings  form  a  small  niche, 
like  revealed  rustic.  The  stones  have  been  remark- 
ably well  cut ;  but  they  are  much  more  disintegrated 
than  they  are  likely  to  have  become  in  the  station 
that  they  at  present  occupy,  during  the  period  of 
eleven  hundred  years ;  and  have  a  much  older  ap- 
pearance than  the  arches  which  they  support.  The 
style  of  cutting  and  joining  the  stones  that  we  see  in 
these  columns,  is  quite  different  from  any  other 
architecture  in  Jerusalem,  and  from  any  thing  that  I 
have  ever  seen,  except  in  the  foundation-stones  in  the 
temple  or  castle  at  Baalbec.  The  Turks  ascribe  the 
erection  of  these  columns  to  Solomon,  the  son  of 
David.  We  are  informed  that  the  inner  court  of 
Solomon's  temple  was  built  of  three  rows  of  hewn 
stone,  and  a  row  of  cedar  beams  ;  and  the  order  from 
Cyrus  for  rebuilding  the  temple,  mentions  three  rows 
of  great  stones  and  a  row  of  new  timber.  It  is 
not  improbable  that  these  columns  are  constructed  of 
the  stones  above-mentioned  :  the  workmanship,  in  my 
opinion,  is  decidedly  Jewish. 

"  Some  of  the  arches  appear  to  have  been  giving 
way,  and  are  built  up  by  a  solid  wall  passing  between 
the  two  columns.  The  different  arches  are  charac- 
terised by  different  names.  One  is  called  the  arch  of 
Aaron,  the  brother  of  Moses ;  another  is  called  the 
arch  of  the  Apostles  ;  and  a  third  is  called  the  arch 
of  St.  George.  There  was  a  small  and  apparently 
accidental  opening,  as  if  the  earth  had  dropped  through 


THE   HOLY  LAND.  115 

from  the  haram  or  outer  court  of  the  enclosure.  This 
they  called  the  private  entrance  of  Solomon,  the  son 
of  David ;  and  between  the  first  row  of  columns  and 
the  wall  on  the  right,  whence  I  entered  the  colonnade, 
they  shewed  me  a  large  slab  that  covers  a  stone  chest, 
in  which  Solomon  had  shut  up  the  devil,  because 
he  had  neglected  his  orders  to  bring  him  his  favourite 
queen  Belgeess,  at  a  time  when  he  was  very  impatient 
to  see  her.  I  have  told  the  tale  as  it  was  told  to  me, 
and  as  it  is  believed  by  every  Mussulman  in  Jeru- 
salem. The  Koran  sets  forth,  that  sundry  devils 
were  under  the  command  of  Solomon,  to  dive  to  get 
him  pearls,  and  do  him  other  works  besides.  The 
whole  of  this  subterraneous  colonnade  is  called  Habsul, 
or  the  hidden ;  and  when  we  compare  the  accumu- 
lation of  rubbish  in  other  parts  of  the  town  with  the 
depth  of  the  rubbish  in  the  Harfim  Schereeff,  I  think 
there  is  little  doubt  that  the  columns  once  were  above 
ground.  They  rest  upon  rock  or  large  coarse  stones 
regularly  laid.  The  Turks  informed  me  that  there 
are  three  thousand  such  columns  under  El  Aksa.  I 
saw  the  stair  that  leads  down  to  them,  but  we  did  not 
enter ;  the  key  could  not  be  found,  as  was  the  case 
when  we  wanted  to  enter  the  grotto  under  the 
Sakhara. 

"  Leaving  the  colonnade,  we  ascended  the  steps, 
passed  through  the  grotto  of  Sidn  Aisa,  regained  the 
open  air,  and  proceeded  along  the  side  of  the  eastern 
wall  of  the  Haram  Schereeff  to  the  house  which 
contains  the  Coursi  Solymon,  or  throne  of  Solomon  : 
but  still  there  was  no  key ;  and  in  looking  at  the 
window,  I  merely  saw  the  five  brass  knobs  that 
adorned  the  arms  and  top  of  the  chair,  looking  through 
the  curtain  of  green  cloth  with  which  it  was  covered. 
As  we  passed  along  to  it  from  the  subterraneous 


116  PALESTINE;  OR, 

colonnade  above-mentioned,  we  saw,  in  two  places 
where  the  ground  had  been  turned  up,  several  frag- 
ments of  marble  columns ;  and  wherever  the  sward 
was  broken,  the  ground  below  exhibited  a  conglo- 
meration of  rubbish  of  former  buildings  that  had 
anciently  adorned  this  sacred  enclosure,  now  levelled 
and  smoothed  over  for  its  present  use. 

"  There  are  four  sects  amongst  the  Mussulmans 
who  are  accounted  orthodox.  The  first,  and  at 
present  the  most  respected,  is  that  of  the  Hanifites,  so 
named  from  Father  Hanifah,  its  founder,  who  was 
born  at  Coufah,  on  the  Euphrates,  in  the  eightieth 
year  of  the  Hedjra,  and  died  in  prison  at  Bagdadt  in 
the  seventieth  year  of  his  age.  The  Turks  and  Tar- 
tars, the  sultans,  kings,  and  judges,  are  of  this  sect. 
The  last -mentioned  hold  public  discussions,  deliver 
public  orations,  and  are  called  the  followers  of  reason. 
If  a  person  be  liable  to  any  sudden  discharge  of  blood, 
and  it  should  surprise  him  in  the  time  of  his  devotions, 
by  the  laws  of  the  sect  he  must  not  wait  to  finish 
them,  but  must  immediately  retire  and  wash  ;  and 
when  the  hemorrhage  is  stopped,  may  return  and 
conclude  his  prayers.  If,  however,  he  change  his 
sect,  which  he  may  do  to  that  of  Shafei,  he  may 
continue  his  devotions  notwithstanding  the  presence 
of  his  infirmity.  Military  or  naval  commanders  are 
never  of  this  sect.  The  elegant  mosque  of  the 
Sakhara  belongs  to  it,  and  is  exclusively  their  appro- 
priate place  of  prayer,  though  those  of  other  sects 
occasionally  frequent  it. 

"  The  second  orthodox  sect  of  Mussulmans  is  that 
of  Malek,  who  was  born  in  Medina  about  the  nine- 
tieth year  of  the  Hedjra,  and  died  there  in  the  one 
hundred  and  seventy-eighth  year  of  the  same  epoch. 
He  is  ehiefly  followed  in  Egypt,  Barbary,  and  other 


THE  HOLir  LAND.  117 

parts  of  Africa.     They  have  a  place  of  prayer  in  the 
south-west  corner  of  the  Haram  Schereeff. 

"  The  third  orthodox  sect  is  that  of  Shafei,  who 
was  born  at  Gaza,  or  Askelon,  in  the  one  hundred  and 
fiftieth  year  of  the  Hedjra,  was  educated  at  Mecca, 
and  died  in  Egypt  in  the  two  hundred  and  fourth  year 
of  the  same  epoch.  The  members  of  this  sect  say  their 
prayers  in  El  Aksa. 

"  The  fourth  orthodox  sect  is  that  of  Hanhal,  who 
was  born  in  the  one  hundred  and  sixty-fourth  year  of 
the  Hedjra,  and  died  at  Bagdadt  in  the  year  two 
hundred  and  forty-one  of  the  same  epoch.  The  place 
of  prayer  belonging  to  this  sect  is  in  the  north-east 
corner  of  the  Hardm  Schereeff ;  but  there  is  none  of 
them  in  Jerusalem  at  present.  They  are  chiefly  con- 
fined to  Mecca,  though  some  of  them  are  still  to  be 
found  in  Nablous  and  Damascus. 

"  Notwithstanding  that  each  of  these  sects  has  a 
separate  place  of  prayer  assigned  to  it  within  these 
holy  precincts,  yet,  on  Fridays,  which  is  the  Mussul- 
man's Sabbath,  they  all  pray  together  in  El  Aksa, 
and,  in  the  times  of  their  festivals,  all  pray  on  the 
platform,  or  Stoa  Sakhara.  I  do  not  exactly  know 
the  particular  points  in  which  these  four  sects  differ 
from  each  other.  All  are  understood  to  be  equally 
orthodox  expounders  of  the  Koran  ;  and  I  believe 
the  principal  differences  consist  in  the  degrees  of 
attention  that  each  thinks  it  necessary  to  bestow  on 
his  person  previously  to  engaging  in  the  ceremonies  of 
his  religion." 

Father  Roger,  a  monkish  traveller,  who  professes  to 
have  gained  admission  into  the  temple  by  stratagem, 
assigns  a  curious  reason  for  the  extreme  jealousy  mani- 
fested by  the  Turks  with  regard  to  any  Christians 
setting  foot  within  the  enclosure.  "  If  a  Christian 

H2 


118  PALESTINE;  OR, 

were  to  gain  access  into  the  court  of  the  temple,  what- 
ever prayers  he  might  offer  np  in  this  place,  according 
to  the  notion  of  the  Turks,  God  would  not  fail  to 
grant,  were  he  even  solicited  to  put  Jerusalem  into 
the  hands  of  the  Christians.  For  this  reason,  hesides 
the  prohibition  issued  against  Christians,  to  enter  not 
only  the  temple,  but  even  the  court,  upon  pain  of 
being  burned  alive,  or  turning  Mahommedans,  they 
kept  a  vigilant  guard."*  Ali  Bey  says  :  "  The  Mus- 
sulman religion  acknowledges  but  two  temples,  that 
of  Mecca,  and  that  of  Jerusalem :  both  are  named 
El  Haram,  and  both  are  equally  prohibited  by  the 
law  to  Christians,  Jews,  and  every  other  person  who 
is  not  a  Mussulman.  The  mosques  in  Arabic  are 
named  El  DjarnmcLa,  or  the  place  of  assembly :  they 
are  respectable  places,  it  is  true,  but  they  are  not  con- 
secrated by  the  especial  presence  of  the  Divinity. 
Entrance  into  them  is  not  prohibited  to  infidels  by 
any  canonical  precept :  the  people,  however,  do  not 
like  to  see  strangers  in  them  ;  nor  can  the  latter  enter 
them  except  by  virtue  of  an  order  from  a  public 
authority.  For  even  at  Constantinople,  Christians 
enter  the  Mosque  of  St.  Sophia,  and  the  other 
mosques,  when  they  are  bearers  of  a  firmaun  granted 
by  government.  But  no  Mussulman  governor  dares 
permit  an  infidel  to  pass  into  the  territory  of  Mecca, 
or  into  the  Temple  of  Jerusalem.  A  permission  of 
this  kind  would  be  looked  upon  as  a  horrid  sacrilege  ; 
it  would  not  be  respected  by  the  people,  and  the  infidel 
would  become  the  victim  of  his  imprudent  boldness."-|- 
Dr.  Richardson  was  indebted  purely  to  his  pro- 
fessional character  for  his  influence  with  the  Capo 
Verde,  or  Green  Turban,  the  Mahommedan  primate 

*  Chateaubriand,  vol.  ii.  p.  118. 
t  Travels  of  Ali  Bey,  vol.  ii.  p.  215. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  119 

of  Jerusalem ;  and  no  other  authority  than  his  would 
have  been  sufficient  to  ensure  him  either  an  intro- 
duction to  the  temple,  or  protection.  The  character 
of^jhe  physician  is  held  in  such  estimation  by  the 
Orientals,  as  to  partake  of  a  sort  of  ecclesiastical 
sanctity.  He  who  is  a  physician,  is  pardoned  for  being 
a  Christian  :  religious  and  national  prejudices  dis- 
appear before  him,  and  even  the  recesses  of  harems 
are  thrown  open  to  him.  "  The  physician  who  visits 
Jerusalem,"  says  Dr.  Richardson,  "  may  assure  him- 
self of  a  cordial  reception,  provided  he  is  properly 
recommended ;  and  the  best  of  all  recommendations 
is  that  of  travelling  with  a  family  of  distinction. 
Both  Turks  and  Arabs  and  Oriental  Christians  are 
perfect  gluttons  in  physic,  and  place  greater  confi- 
dence iii  its  wonder-working  powers  than  the  more 
enlightened  people  in  Europe  are  disposed  to  do ;  but 
they  have  been  so  often  gulled  by  pretenders  to  the 
art,  that  a  solitary  traveller  declaring  himself  to  be  of 
that  profession  is  looked  upon  with  suspicion,  and 
must  work  his  way  through  lengthened  files  of  gos- 
sipping  quacks  and  anile  competitors,  fraught  with 
legions  of  nostrums  from  every  country  under  heaven, 
against  every  ailment  with  which  the  human  body  can 
be  assailed,  from  a  scratch  of  the  finger  to  a  scirrhous 
ulcer  or  a  pestilential  boil.  But  all  their  clamours  are 
silenced  by  such  an  introduction ;  his  prescriptions  are 
received  with  unlimited  confidence,  and  applications 
for  advice  are  without  end.  Crowds  of  invalids, — 
the  halt,  the  blind,  the  lame,  and  the  sick  of  every 
disease,  collected  from  all  quarters  of  the  country, 
assail  him,  so  that  unless  he  give  his  whole  time  up  to 
them,  he  will  find  it  impossible  to  satisfy  their  de^ 
mands.  It  is  the  hardest  of  all  refusals  for  a  medical 
man  at  any  time  to  decline  giving  advice  for  the 


120  PALESTINE;  OR, 

health  of  a  fellow-creature,  but  more  especially  so  in 
Jerusalem.  The  patients  seize  upon  him  as-  if  only  he 
stood  between  them  and  death  :  they  fall  down  before 
him  on  the  ground,  grasp  his  legs,  kiss  his  feet,  and 
supplicate  him,  for  the  love  of  God,  to  look  at  them, 
and  prescribe  for  their  complaints.  They  rarely  pre- 
sent him  with  silver  or  gold ;  but  the  father,  the 
mother,  the  sister,  the  brother,  or  some  friend  or 
relation  of  the  patient,  stands  by  with  a  sheep,  a  lamb, 
or  a  goat,  a  chaplet  of  beads,  a  carved  shell,  or  some 
other  portion  of  his  property,  to  reward  him  for  his 
trouble.  The  soul  is  touched  when  the  body  suffers, 
and  any  thing  for  health.  Whether  he  is  in  his 
lodgings,  walks  in  the  streets,  or  sits  down  in  the 
market-place,  the  physician  is  equally  beset ;  some 
needy  sufferer  finds  him  out,  and  comes  up  under  the 
wing  of  some  favoured  Turk,  who  prefers  an  unneces- 
sary request  in  behalf  of  the  invalid :  no  sooner  has 
he  prescribed  for  one,  than  another  victim  of  disease 
pathetically  assails  him  ;  and  thus  he  is  kept  in  con- 
stant employ,  and  hunted,  as  if  by  a  dog,  both  over 
town  and  country. 

"  The  medical  practitioner  who  travels  in  these 
countries,  and  wishes  to  be  useful,  which  it  is  hoped 
every  member  of  the  profession  does,  should  take  along 
with  him  a  set  of  surgical  instruments,  particularly 
such  as  are  necessary  for  operations  on  the  eye,  and 
for  laying  open  fistulous  sores  ;  also  a  chest  of  medi- 
cines well  stored  with  calomel  and  jalap,  bark,  the 
liquor  of  ammonia,  which,  from  the  debilitated  state  of 
the  digestive  organs,  occasioned  by  the  excessive  use 
of  tobacco,  he  will  find  of  great  service  ;  powders  for 
making  soda-water,  and  the  spirits  of  nitrous  ether,  he 
will  find  universally  called  for  ;  and  a  small  quantity  of 
them  will  be  sufficient  to  secure  him  the  temporary 


THE   HOLY  LAND.  121 

friendship  of  any  great  man  In  the  country  ;  he  ought 
also  to  take  opium  along  with  him,  which,  strange  as 
it  may  appear,  I  hardly  ever  found  good  in  those 
countries ;  and  he  will  find  the  ointment  of  the  nitrate 
of  mercury  of  great  service  in  the  eruptive  diseases  on 
which  he  will  often  be  consulted.  Such  other  medi- 
cines as  he  may  have  occasion  for,  he  will  generally 
meet  with  in  the  convents  or  the  shops  of  the  country. 
If  it  fall  to  his  lot,  as  it  did  to  mine,  he  will  have 
many  eyes  to  operate  upon,  and  many  fistulous  sores 
to  lay  open,  most  of  them  arising  from  neglected  gun- 
shot wounds,  which  are  very  frequent  in  those  coun- 
tries, where  every  man  who  carries  a  gun  may  fire  it 
almost  with  impunity  at  any  other  man  who  comes  in 
his  way." 

On  leaving  the  Har&m  Schereeff,  our  favoured  tra- 
veller passed  out  by  the  gate  called  Bab  el  Sette  Ma- 
riam,  which  is  close  by  the  gate  of  the  city  called 
St.  Stephen's  gate ;  and,  turning  to  the  left,  pro- 
ceeded along  a  narrow  street,  which,  in  a  short  time, 
brought  him  to  the  Serai,  or  palace  of  the  governor  ; 
an  old  irregular  building,  in  bad  repair,  apparently  of 
Roman  architecture,  said  to  occupy  the  site  of  Pontius 
Pilate's  palace.  The  monks  pretend  to  shew  in  this 
house  the  very  room  in  which  our  Lord  was  kept 
in  custody.  The  palace  joins  the  wall  of  the  Hartfm 
Schereeff;  and  from  the  south  side  of  it,  there  is  a 
delightful  view  of  the  sacred  enclosure.  A  little 
onward  is  the  arch  called  Ecce  Homo.  The  street 
between  the  Serai  and  the  church  of  the  Sepulchre 
is  the  Strada  Dolorosa,  or  mournful  way ;  which  the 
monkish  cicerones  of  Jerusalem  gravely  point  out  as 
the  way  by  which  our  Lord  was  led  to  his  crucifixion. 
It  crosses  the  road  leading  to  the  Damascus  gate,  arid 
then  proceeds  up  an  ascent  to  what  is  now  called 


122  PALESTINE;  OR, 

Calvary ;  which  is  described  by  Dr.  Richardson  as  by 
no  means  high,  but  merely  a  bluff  point  on  the  lower 
slope  of  the  mountain  base,  as  it  approaches  the  edge 
of  the  lower  ground  on  which  the  centre  of  the  city 
stands.  To  the  north  and  west,  the  rock  rises  con- 
siderably above  it.  That  is  to  say,  the  spot  ignorantly 
fixed  upon  as  the  site  of  the  crucifixion,  so  far  from 
ever  having  been  without  the  walls  of  the  ancient 
city,  (as,  from  the  Scriptures,  we  know  that  Calvary 
was,)  is  on  the  lower  part  of  the  sloping  hill  which 
Josephus  distinguished  by  the  name  of  Acra,  near 
where  it  was  joined  to  Mount  Moriah  by  the  filling  up 
of  the  interjacent  ravine,  under  the  Asmonean  princes ; 
consequently  near  the  centre  of  the  city.* 

*  The  historical  evidence  in  favour  of  the  supposed  identity  of  the 
sacred  places,  mainly  rests  on  an  assertion  of  Jerome's  (Epist.  ad 
Paulinum  de  Instit.  Monac.),  that  "  from  the  time  of  Hadrian 
to  the  reign  of  Constantine,  an  interval  of  about  180  years,  an 
image  of  Jupiter  marked  the  site  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  and 
a  statue  of  Venus  the  place  of  the  Resurrection ;  the  persecutors 
of  the  Christians  thinking  to  destroy  the  faith  of  the  Cross,  by 
thus  polluting  with  idols  the  sacred  places."  This  representa- 
tion, as  Dr.  Clarke  has  remarked,  is  at  direct  variance  with  the 
assertion  cited  by  Chateaubriand  from  the  author  of  the  "  Epi- 
tome of  the  Holy  Wars,"  that  Adrian  gave  the  Christians  permis- 
sion to  build  a  church  over  the  tomb  of  their  God.  Dion  Cas- 
sius  states,  that  Adrian  built  a  city  on  the  site  of  Jerusalem, 
giving  it  the  name  of  M\va  Capitolina,  and  that  in  the  place 
tvhere  the  Temple  of  God  had  been,  he  erected  one  to  Jupiter. 
Jerome  seems  to  have  confounded  the  site  of  the  Temple  with 
the  place  of  the  Resurrection.  Gibbon  says,  on  the  authority  of 
Jerome  and  Tillemont :  "  Either  from  design  or  accident,  a 
chapel  was  dedicated  to  Venus  on  the  spot  which  had  been  sanc- 
tified by  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ."  There  is  no 
proof  of  any  such  design ;  nor  could  we,  on  the  mere  testimony  of 
Sozomen,  admit  the  credibility  of  such  an  accident.  But  the 
spot  in  question,  as  we  have  seen,  could  never  have  been  either  a 
burial-place  or  a  place  of  crucifixion,  not  being  without  the 
city.  Dr.  Clarke  supposes  that  the  accidental  fissure  in  the 
rock,  which  is  shewn  by  the  priests  as  the  effect  of  the  earth- 


THE  HOLY   LAND.  123 


THE  HOLY  SEPULCHRE. 

THE  church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  is  built  partly 
on  the  low  ground  and  partly  on  the  ascent.  It 
is  not  entered  from  the  Via  Dolorosa  ;  the  traveller 
has  to  ascend  the  next  street,  and  then,  turning  to  the 
left,  to  proceed  along  a  winding  descent,  till  he  arrives 
at  the  large  open  court  in  front  of  the  church,  where  he 
will  find  every  thing  his  heart  can  wish  in  the  form  of 
crucifixes,  carved  shells,  beads  and  bracelets,  saints 
and  sherbet ;  all  exposed  to  sale,  and  the  venders 
seated  on  the  ground  beside  their  wares.  The  court 
is  bounded  by  the  wings  of  the  convent :  that  on  the 
right  contains  Mount  Calvary,  and  other  supposititious 
sacred  places  ;  that  on  the  left,  the  Greek  chapel,  and 
anciently  the  belfry.  The  door  of  the  church  faces 
the  court ;  it  is  on  the  side  of  the  building.  It  is 
open  only  on  certain  days  in  the  week,  and  certain 
hours  in  each  day.  To  get  it  opened  at  any  other 

quake,  might  lead  the  Empress  Helena  to  fix  on  the  spot  now 
called  Calvary,  as  the  site  of  the  crucifixion.  The  mode  resorted 
to  for  discovering  the  cross,  by  Inflicting  tortures  on  the  Jews, 
and  the  miracle  which  distinguished  the  true  cross  out  of  the 
three  produced  by  the  Jews,  which  are  parts  of  the  tale,  betray 
the  wretched  ignorance  and  superstition  of  the  principal  agents  in 
these  transactions.  Theodoret  affirms,  that  Helena,  on  her  arrival 
at  Jerusalem,  found  the  fane  of  Venus,  and  ordered  it  to  be 
thrown  down.  The  old  lady  was  then  about  eighty  years  of  age. 
If  such  fane  existed,  (Jerome,  we  have  seen,  says  merely  statua 
ex  marmore  Veneris,)  a  sufficient  reason  would  be  furnished  for 
selecting  the  place:  the  pagan  edifice,  instead  of  being  thrown 
down,  would  have  been  doubtless  transformed  into  a  Christian 
temple,  and  the  legend  be  adapted  to  the  locality.  In  like  man- 
ner, the  church  of  the  Purification,  which  occupied  the  site  of  the 
mosque  of  El  Aksa,  was  probably  no  other,  originally,  than  the 
temple  erected  by  Hadrian  to  Jupiter. 


124  PALESTINE;  on, 

time,  it  is  necessary  to  have  an  order  of  the  two  con- 
vents, the  Latin  and  the  Greek,  with  the  sanction 
of  the  governor  of  the  city.  When  open,  the  door 
is  always  guarded  by  Turks,  who  exact  a  tribute  from 
all  who  enter.  Once  admitted,  the  visiters  may  remain 
all  night,  if  they  please.  The  crowd  pressing  for 
admittance  on  certain  days  is  immense  ;  and  the 
Turks,  who  keep  the  door,  treat  them  in  the  roughest 
manner,  notwithstanding  that  they  pay  for  admis- 
sion, squeezing  and  beating  them  about  like  so  many 
cattle.  "  It  must  be  allowed,"  says  Dr.  Richardson, 
"  that  they  are  often  extremely  riotous,  and  conduct 
themselves  in  a  manner  very  unbecoming  their  charac- 
ter of  pilgrims." 

"  Having  passed  within  these  sacred  walls,  the 
attention  is  first  directed  to  a  large  flat  stone  in  the 
floor,  a  little  within  the  door  ;  it  is  surrounded  by 
a  rail,  and  several  lamps  hang  suspended  over  it.  The 
pilgrims  approach  it  on  their  knees,  touch,  and  kiss 
it,  and,  prostrating  themselves  before  it,  offer  up  their 
prayers  in  holy  adoration.  This  is  the  stone  on  which 
the  body  of  our  Lord  was  washed  and  anointed,  and 
prepared  for  the  tomb.  Turning  to  the  left,  and  pro- 
ceeding a  little  forward,  we  came  into  a  round  space 
immediately  under  the  dome,  surrounded  with  sixteen 
large  columns  that  support  the  gallery  above.  In  the 
centre  of  this  space  stands  the  holy  sepulchre  ;  it  is 
enclosed  in  an  oblong  house,  rounded  at  one  end  with 
small  arcades  or  chapels  for  prayer  in  the  outside  of 
it,  for  the  devotion  of  the  Copts,  the  Abyssinians,  the 
Syrian,  Maronite,  and  other  Christians,  who  are  not, 
like  the  Roman  Catholics,  the  Greeks,  and  the  Arme- 
nians, provided  with  large  chapels  in  the  body  of  the 
church.  At  the  other  end  it  is  squared  off  and  fur- 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  125 

nished  with  a  platform  in  front,  which  is  ascended  by 
a  flight  of  steps,  having  a  small  parapet  wall  of  marble 
on  each  hand,  and  being  floored  with  the  same  material. 
In  the  middle  of  this  small  platform  stands  a  block  of 
polished  marble  about  a  foot  and  a  half  square  ;  on 
this  stone  sat  the  angel  who  announced  the  blessed 
tidings  of  the  resurrection  to  Mary  Magdalen,  and 
Joanna,  and  Mary  the  mother  of  James  :  '  He  is 
not  here,  he  is  risen,  as  he  said  :  come,  see  the  place 
where  the  Lord  lay.'  Advancing  a  step,  and  taking 
off  our  shoes  and  turbans,  at  the  desire  of  the  keeper, 
he  drew  aside  the  curtain,  and  stepping  down  and 
bending  almost  to  the  ground,  we  entered,  by  a  low 
narrow  door,  into  this  mansion  of  victory,  where  Christ 
triumphed  over  the  grave,  and  disarmed  death  of  all 
his  terrors. 

"  The  tomb  exhibited  is  a  sarcophagus  of  white 
marble,  slightly  tinged  with  blue  ;  it  is  six  feet  one 
inch  and  three  quarters  long,  three  feet  three  quarters 
of  an  inch  broad,  and  two  feet  one  inch  and  a  quarter 
deep,  measured  on  the  outside.  It  is  but  indifferently 
polished,  and  seems  as  if  it  had  at  one  time  been 
exposed  to  the  pelting  of  the  storm  and  the  changes 
of  the  season,  by  which  it  has  been  considerably  dis- 
integrated :  it  is  without  any  ornament,  and  is  made 
in  the  fashion  of  a  Greek  sarcophagus,  and  not  like 
the  ancient  tombs  of  the  Jews,  which  we  see  cut 
in  the  rock  for  the  reception  of  the  dead  ;  nor  like 
those  stone  troughs,  or  sarcophagi,  which,  I  have 
already  mentioned,  Avere  called  to  me  the  beds  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  of  Mary,  of  John,  and  of  Zacharias.  There 
are  seven  silver  lamps  constantly  burning  over  it,  the 
gifts  of  different  potentates,  to  illuminate  this  scene 
of  hope  and  joy.  The  sarcophagus  occupies  about  one 
half  of  the  sepulchral  chamber,  and  extends  from  one 


126  PALESTINE;  on, 

end  of  it  to  the  other.  A  space  about  three  feet  width 
in  front  of  it,  is  all  that  remains  for  the  reception  of 
visiters,  so  that  not  above  three  or  four  can  be  conve- 
niently admitted  at  a  time."* 

That  the  marble  sarcophagus  shewn  as  the  sepul- 
chre, has  no  pretensions  to  the  distinction  claimed  for 
it,  stands  in  no  need  of  proof.  The  Evangelists 
inform  us  that  the  sepulchre  in  which  the  body  of 
Jesus  was  laid,  was  hewn  out  of  the  rock,  which 
is  not  marble,  but  compact  limestone;  a  lateral 
excavation,  in  all  probability,  of  the  same  kind  as  are 
still  seen  in  the  rocks  round  Jerusalem.  The  stone 
in  the  anti-room  of  the  tomb,  shewn  as  that  which 
was  rolled  to  the  doorway  of  the  sepulchre,  and  kissed 
and  venerated  by  the  holy  fathers  accordingly,  was 
admitted  by  the  guide,  when  strictly  questioned,  to  be 
a  substitute  for  the  real  stone,  which  was  stolen  by  the 
Armenians,-)-  and  is  exhibited  by  them  in  a  chapel  on 
M ount  Zion  :  but  the  block  of  marble,  it  was  said, 
served  their  purpose  equally  well.  Dr.  Richardson 
conjectures  that,  were  the  historians  of  the  sacred 
premises  to  exercise  the  same  degree  of  candour  as 
their  guide,  it  would  turn  out  that  the  stone  trough 
called  the  Sereer  Sidn  Aisa  by  the  Turks,  was  the 


*  Ali  Bey  states,  that  the  Mussulmans  say  prayers  in  all  the 
holy  places  consecrated  to  the  memory  of  Jesus  Christ  and  the 
Virgin,  except  this  tomb,  which  they  do  not  acknowledge. 
"  They  believe  that  Christ  did  not  die,  but  that  he  ascended 
alive  into  heaven,  leaving  the  likeness  of  his  face  to  Judas,  who 
was  condemned  to  die  for  him  ;  and  that,  in  consequence,  Judas 
having  been  crucified,  his  body  might  have  been  contained  in  this 
sepulchre,  but  not  that  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  for  this  reason  that 
the  Mussulmans  do  not  perform  any  act  of  devotion  at  this 
monument,  and  that  they  ridicule  the  Christians  who  go  to  revere 
it." 

t  Maundrell  mentions  the  fact  as  then  of  recent  occurrence. 


THE  HOLY   LAND.  127 

sarcophagus  originally  exhibited  as  the  tomb  of 
Christ. 

The  walls  of  the  sepulchral  chamber  itself  are  of 
greenish  marble,  the  species  of  breccia  vulgarly  called 
verd-antique.  It  is  pretended  that  this  exterior  is 
only  a  casing  to  protect  the  internal  surface  of  the 
rock,  which  externally  has  been  cut  into  the  shape,  to 
use  Dr.  Clarke's  expression,  of  a  huge  pepper-box ;  all 
the  surrounding  rock  being  levelled  to  the  floor  of  the 
building,  except  this  "  grotto  above  ground,"  as 
Maundrell  terms  it.  Thus,  all  that  the  pilgrim  is 
permitted  to  see,  is  a  marble  casing  of  a  supposed  rock, 
which  rock  has,  in  fact,  all  the  appearance  of  a  build- 
ing,  as  no  doubt  it  really  is. 

From  the  sepulchre,  the  visiter  is  led  to  the  place 
where  Christ  appeared  to  Mary  Magdalen ;  to  the 
"  chapel  of  apparition,"  where  he  appeared  to  the 
Virgin ;  and  then  to  the  Greek  chapel  facing  the 
sepulchre,  in  the  centre  of  which  the  Greeks  have  set 
up  a  globe,  to  mark  out  the  spot  as  the  centre  of  the 
earth  ;  thus  transferring,  as  Dr.  Richardson  remarks, 
the  absurd  notions  of  their  ancient  heathen  priests 
respecting  the  navel  of  the  earth,  from  Delphi  to 
Jerusalem.  A  dark,  narrow  staircase  of  about 
twenty  steps  conducts  the  pilgrim  to  Mount  Calvary.* 
Here  are  shewn  the  place  where  Christ  was  nailed  to 
the  cross,  where  the  cross  was  erected,  the  hole  in 


*  "  On  what  authority,"  asks  Mr.  Buckingham,  "  is  Calvary 
called  a  mount  9"  Assuredly  on  no  scriptural  authority.  The 
Evangelists  uniformly  speak  of  it  as  the  place  (rovo*)  called 
Calvary.  That  gentlei.  tan's  object  is  to  shew  that  this  may  be 
the  site  of  Calvary,  though  it  is  not  a  mount,  in  which  he  wholly 
fails ;  but  he  is  right  in  supposing  that  the  hill  of  Calvary,  or  a 
mount  of  that  name,  is  a  mere  figment.  It  would  be  a  curious 
inquiry,  when  and  how  the  expression,  which  has  been  so  implicitly 
received,  first  originated  ? 


128  PALESTINE;  OR, 

which  the  end  was  fixed,  and  the  rent  in  the  rock,  all 
covered  with  marble,  perforated  in  the  proper  places. 
"  To  complete,"  says  Dr.  Clarke,  "  the  naivete  of  the 
tale,  it  is  added,  that  the  head  of  Adam  was  found 
within  the  fissure."  "  Mount  Calvary"1"1  is,  by  that 
learned  traveller,  stated  to  be  in  fact  a  modern  piece  of 
masonry ;  a  sort  of  altar,  within  the  contracted  dimen- 
sions of  which  are  exhibited  the  marks  or  holes  of  the 
three  crosses,  without  the  smallest  regard  to  the  space 
necessary  for  their  erection. 

Descending  from  Calvary,  the  pilgrim  enters  the 
chapel  of  St.  Helena,  in  the  low  rocky  vault  beneath 
which  the  cross  is  said  to  have  been  found.  In  this 
murky  den,  the  invention  (or  finding)  of  the  cross  is 
celebrated  in  an  appropriate  mass  by  the  Latins  on  the 
3d  of  May.  It  is  large  enough  to  contain  about  thirty 
or  forty  persons,  wedged  in  close  array,  and  on  that 
occasion  it  is  generally  crowded.  The  year  that  Dr. 
Richardson  was  at  Jerusalem,  it  happened  that  the 
day  on  which  the  festival  was  to  be  celebrated  by  the 
Latins,  was  the  same  as  that  on  which  it  was  to  be 
celebrated  by  the  Greeks  ;  and  he  witnessed  the  tug  of 
war  between  the  ecclesiastical  combatants,  who,  with 
brick-bats  and  clubs,  teeth  and  nails,  fought  for  their 
chapel  like  kites  or  crows  for  their  nest.  The  Romans 
were  routed.  "  The  devil  aids  the  Greeks,"  exclaimed 
the  superior  of  the  Latin  Convent,  panting  from  the 
effects  of  a  blow ;  "  they  are  schismatics ;  and  you 
Englishmen,  who  live  in  our  convent,  see  us  beaten 
and  do  not  assist  us."  "  How  can  you  expect  it,"  it 
was  rejoined,  "  when,  if  we  fell  in  your  cause,  you 
would  not  allow  us  Christian  burial  ?"  The  Greeks 
spent  the  night  in  firing  pistols  and  rejoicing ;  and 
were  fined  by  the  cadi  next  morning  for  disturbing  his 
repose. 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  12^ 

The  fathers  of  the  Latin  convent  annually  perform 
the  crucifixion.  Maundrell,  who  was  present  on  one 
occasion,  has  given  a  particular  description  of  the 
dramatic  ceremonies. 

"  Their  ceremony  begins  on  Good  Friday  night, 
which  is  called  by  them  the  nox  tenebrosa,  and  is  ob- 
served with  such  an  extraordinary  solemnity,  that  I 
cannot  omit  to  give  a  particular  description  of  it. 

"  As  soon  as  it  grew  dusk,  all  the  friars  and  pil- 
grims were  convened  in  the  chapel  of  the  Apparitions, 
(which  is  a  small  oratory  on  the  north  side  of  the  holy 
grave,  adjoining  to  the  apartment  of  the  Latins,)  in 
order  to  go  in  a  procession  round  the  church.  But, 
before  they  set  out,  one  of  the  friars  preached  a  sermon 
in  Italian  in  that  chapel.  He  began  his  discourse 
thus :  In  questa  notte  tenebrosa,  <|r.,  at  which  words 
all  the  candles  were  instantly  put  out,  to  yield  a 
livelier  image  of  the  occasion.  And  so  we  were  held 
by  the  preacher,  for  near  half  an  hour,  very  much  in 
the  dark.  Sermon  being  ended,  every  person  present 
had  a  large  lighted  taper  put  into  his  hand,  as  if  it 
were  to  make  amends  for  the  former  darkness  ;  and 
the  crucifixes  and  other  utensils  were  disposed  in 
order  for  beginning  the  procession.  Amongst  the 
other  crucifixes,  there  was  one  of  a  very  large  size, 
which  bore  upon  it  the  image  of  our  Lord,  as  big 
as  the  life.  The  image  was  fastened  to  it  with  great 
nails,  crowned  with  thorns,  besmeared  with  blood  ; 
and  so  exquisitely  was  it  formed,  that  it  represented 
in  a  very  lively  manner  the  lamentable  spectacle  of 
our  Lord's  body,  as  it  hung  upon  the  cross.  This 
figure  was  carried  all  along  in  the  head  of  the  proces- 
sion ;  after  which,  the  company  followed  to  all  the 
sanctuaries  in  the  church,  singing  their  appointed  hymn 
at  every  one. 


130  PALESTINE;  on, 

"  The  first  place  they  visited  was  that  of  the  pillar  of 
Flagellation,  a  large  piece  of  which  is  kept  in  a  little 
cell,  just  at  the  door  of  the  chapel  of  the  Apparition. 
There  they  sung  their  proper  hymn  ;  and  another  friar 
entertained  the  company  with  a  sermon  in  Spanish, 
touching  the  scourging  of  our  Lord. 

"  From  hence  they  proceeded  in  solemn  order  to  the 
prison  of  Christ,  where  they  pretend  he  was  secured 
whilst  the  soldiers  made  things  ready  for  his  cruci- 
fixion ;  here,  likewise,  they  sung  their  hymn,  and  a 
third  friar  preached  in  French. 

"  From  the  prison  they  went  to  the  altar  of  the  di- 
vision of  Christ's  garments  ;  where  they  only  sung 
their  hymn,  without  adding  any  sermon. 

"  Having  done  here,  they  advanced  to  the  chapel  of 
the  Derision  ;  at  which,  after  their  hymn,  they  had  a 
fourth  sermon  (as  I  remember)  in  French. 

"  From  this  place  they  went  up  to  Calvary,  leaving 
their  shoes  at  the  bottom  of  the  stairs.  Here  are  two 
altars  to  be  visited  :  one  where  our  Lord  is  supposed  to 
have  been  nailed  to  his  cross  ;  another  where  his  cross 
was  erected.  At  the  former  of  these  they  laid  down 
the  great  crucifix  (which  I  but  now  described)  upon 
the  floor,  and  acted  a  kind  of  resemblance  of  Christ's 
being  nailed  to  the  cross ;  and  after  the  hymn,  one  of 
the  friars  preached  another  sermon  in  Spanish,  upon 
the  crucifixion. 

"  From  hence  they  removed  to  the  adjoining  altar, 
where  the  cross  is  supposed  to  have  been  erected, 
bearing  the  image  of  our  Lord's  body.  At  this  altar 
is  a  hole  in  the  natural  rock,  said  to  be  the  very  same 
individual  one  in  which  the  foot  of  our  Lord's  cross 
stood.  Here  they  set  up  their  cross,  with  the  bloody 
crucified  image  upon  it ;  and,  leaving  it  in  that  pos- 
ture, they  first  sung  their  hymn,  and  then  the  father. 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  131 

guardian,  sitting  in  a  chair  before  it,  preached  a  passion 
sermon  in  Italian. 

"  At  about  one  yard  and  a  half  distance  from  the 
hole  in  which  the  foot  of  the  cross  was  fixed,  is  seen 
that  memorable  cleft  in  the  rock,  said  to  have  been 
made  by  the  earthquake  which  happened  at  the  suf- 
fering of  the  God  of  nature ;  when  (as  St.  Matthew, 
chap.  xvii.  verse  51,  witnesseth)  '  the  rocks  rent, 
and  the  very  graves  were  opened.'  This  cleft,  as  to 
what  now  appears  of  it,  is  about  a  span  wide  afc  its 
upper  part,  and  two  deep ;  after  which  it  closes  ;  but 
it  opens  again  below,  (as  you  may  see  in  another  cha- 
pel, contiguous  to  the  side  of  Calvary,)  and  runs  down 
to  an  unknown  depth  in  the  earth.  That  this  rent 
was  made  by  the  earthquake  that  happened  at  our 
Lord's  passion,  there  is  only  tradition  to  prove  :  but 
that  it  is  a  natural  and  genuine  breach,  and  not  coun- 
terfeited by  any  art,  the  sense  and  reason  of  every  one 
that  sees  it  may  convince  him  ;  for  the  sides  of  it  fit 
like  two  tallies  to  each  other ;  and  yet  it  runs  in  such 
intricate  windings  as  could  not  well  be  counterfeited 
by  art,  nor  arrived  at  by  any  instruments. 

"  The  ceremony  of  the  passion  being  over,  and  the 
guardian's  sermon  ended,  two  friars,  personating,  the 
one  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  and  the  other  Nicodemus, 
approached  the  cross,  and  with  a  most  solemn,  con- 
cerned air,  both  of  aspect  and  behaviour,  drew  out  the 
great  nails,  and  took  down  the  feigned  body  from  the 
cross.  It  was  an  effigy  so  contrived  that  its  limbs  were 
soft  and  flexible,  as  if  they  had  been  real  flesh ;  and 
nothing  could  be  more  surprising  than  to  see  the  two 
pretended  mourners  bend  down  the  arms,  which  were 
before  extended,  and  dispose  them  upon  the  trunk,  in 
such  a  manner  as  is  usual  in  corpses. 

"  The  body,  being  taken  down  from  the  cross,  was 


132  PALESTINE;  OR, 

received  in  a  fair  large  winding  sheet,  and  carried 
down  from  Calvary  ;  the  whole  company  attending, 
as  before,  to  the  stone  of  unction.  This  is  taken  for 
the  very  place  where  the  precious  body  of  our  Lord 
was  anointed  and  prepared  for  the  burial,  John  xix.  39. 
Here  they  laid  down  their  imaginary  corpse,  and, 
casting  over  it  several  sweet  powders  and  spices, 
wrapt  it  up  in  the  winding  sheet :  whilst  this  was 
doing,  they  sung  their  proper  hvmn,  and  after- 
wards one  of  the  friars  preached  in  Arabic  a  funeral 
sermon. 

"  These  obsequies  being  finished,  they  carried  off 
their  fancied  corpse,  and  laid  it  in  the  sepulchre,  shut- 
ting up  the  door  till  Easter  morning.  And  now,  after 
so  many  sermons,  and  so  long,  not  to  say  tedious  a 
ceremony,  it  may  well  be  imagined,  that  the  weariness 
of  the  congregation,  as  well  as  the  hour  of  the  night, 
made  it  needful  to  go  to  rest. 

"  The  next  morning  nothing  extraordinary  passed, 
which  gave  many  of  the  pilgrims  leisure  to  have  their 
arms  marked  with  the  usual  ensigns  of  Jerusalem. 
The  artists  who  undertake  the  operation,  do  it  in 
this  manner  :  they  have  stamps  in  wood  of  any  figure 
that  you  desire,  which  they  first  print  off  upon  your 
arm  with  powder  of  charcoal,  then  taking  two  very 
fine  needles,  tied  close  together,  and  dipping  them 
often,  like  a  pen,  in  certain  ink,  compounded,  as  I  was 
informed,  of  gunpowder  and  ox-gall,  they  make  with 
them  small  punctures  all  along  the  lines  of  the  figure 
which  they  have  printed  ;  and  then  washing  the  part 
in  wine,  conclude  the  work.  These  punctures  they 
make  with  great  quickness  and  dexterity,  and  with 
scarce  any  smart,  seldom  piercing  so  deep  as  to  draw 
the  blood. 

"  In  the  afternoon  of  this  day  the  congregation 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  133 

was  assembled  in  the  area  before  the  holy  grave, 
where  the  friars  spent  some  hours  in  singing  over 
the  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah,  which  function,  with 
the  usual  procession  to  the  holy  places,  was  all  the 
ceremony  of  this  day. 

"  On  Easter  morning  the  sepulchre  was  again  set 
open  very  early.  The  clouds  of  the  former  morning 
were  cleared  up,  and  the  friars  put  on  a  face  of  joy 
and  serenity,  as  if  it  had  been  the  real  juncture  of  our 
Lord's  resurrection.  Nor,  doubtless,  was  this  joy 
feigned,  whatever  their  mourning  might  be,  this  being 
the  day  in  which  their  Lenten  disciplines  expired,  and 
they  were  come  to  a  full  belly  again. 

u  The  mass  was  celebrated  this  morning  just  before 
the  holy  sepulchre,  being  the  most  eminent  place  in 
the  church,  where  the  father -guardian  had  a  throne 
erected  ;  and  being  arrayed  in  episcopal  robes,  with 
a  mitre  on  his  head,  in  the  sight  of  the  Turks,  he 
gave  the  host  to  all  that  were  disposed  to  receive  it  y 
not  refusing  children  of  seven  or  eight  years  old. 
This  office  being  ended,  we  made  our  exit  out  of  the 
sepulchre,  and,  returning  to  the  convent,  dined  with 
the  friars." 

Dr.  Richardson  was  riot  in  Jerusalem  in  time  to 
witness  the  celebration  of  the  crucifixion  by  the  Latin 
Church,  but  was  present  at  the  service  of  the  Greek 
Church,  on  their  anniversary  of  the  resurrection. 
"  The  rules  of  this  Church,"  "he  remarks,  "  do  not 
permit  the  exhibition  of  graven  images  in  their  wor- 
ship ;  but,  as  some  sensible  representation  of  the  body 
of  our  Saviour  was  deemed  necessary,  either  in  the 
way  of  mockery  or  devotion,  one  apparently  lifeless 
was  extended  on  a  board,  and  carried  round  the  sepul- 
chre, with  a  mighty  uproar  ;  boys  and  men  going 
alongside  of  it,  striking  fire  from  flint.  The  cere- 

PART  I.  I 


134  PALESTINE;  on, 

mony  began  about  eleven  o'clock  ;  the  church  was 
full  in  every  quarter.  The  conduct  of  many  of  the 
attendants  shewed  that  they  entered  the  holy  place 
in  a  becoming  frame  of  mind  ;  these  sat  retired  in  the 
different  chapels  or  recesses  that  surround  the  sepul- 
chre, and  were  chiefly  females.  The  galleries  above 
were  also  crowded  ;  many  Turkish  officers  were  pre- 
sent. The  governor  was  expected,  but  did  not  arrive. 
The  mob  occupied  the  body  of  the  house,  and  their 
behaviour  was  disorderly  in  the  extreme ;  they  hal- 
looed and  ran  about,  leaped  on  one  another's  shoulders, 
revelling  in  the  most  unseemly  manner,  more  like 
bacchanals  or  unchained  maniacs,  or  a  set  of  rioters 
at  a  fair,  than  celebraters  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
blessed  Jesus.  Numbers  of  Turkish  soldiers  were 
placed  in  the  church  to  act  as  constables,  and  did 
their  best  to  preserve  order  and  decency  ;  but,  notwith- 
standing all  their  efforts  in  beating  them  with  clubs, 
pulling  and  thrusting  them  about  like  so  many  dis- 
orderly animals,  the  noise  and  uproar  continued  till 
about  two  o'clock,  when  the  grand  quackery  of  the 
day  began  to  be  played  off  by  the  grand  charlatan,  the 
Greek  bishop  of  Jerusalem ;  for,  with  all  possible 
respect  for  his  sacred  office,  I  cannot  designate  him  or 
his  exhibition  by  any  other  names  that  will  ade- 
quately describe  their  character.  The  juggle  at- 
tempted to  be  played  off,  is  usually  denominated  the 
Grecian  fire,  which,  it  is  pretended,  bursts  from  the 
holy  sepulchre  in  a  supernatural  manner,  on  the 
anniversary  of  this  day,  and  at  which  all  the  pilgrims 
of  this  persuasion  light  their  lamps  and  torches,  be- 
lieving that  they  have  thus  received  fire  from  heaven. 
"  Before  the  ceremony  commenced,  the  higher 
ecclesiastics  entered  the  sepulchre,  and  in  a  little  time 
light  was  perceived  at  a  small  window  in  its  side.  Thi- 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  135 

ther  all  the  people  crowded  in  wild  disorder,  and  lighted 
their  torches  at  the  flame,  which,  from  the  place  where 
we  stood,  the  station  of  the  organ  belonging  to  the 
lloman  Catholic  church,  was  distinctly  seen  to  issue 
from  a  burning  body,  placed  on  the  lower  part  of  the 
window,  within  the  tomb.  This,  when  some  of  the 
wicks  were  of  difficult  accession,  was  raised  up  and 
pushed  nearer  ;  at  other  times  the  flame  was  lowered 
down,  and  was  out  of  sight,  intimating  that  Heaven 
required  to  draw  its  breath,  and  the  fire  to  receive  a 
fresh  supply  of  combustible  materials  ;  when  again 
raised  up,  it  burned  with  greater  brilliancy,  and,  on  be- 
coming fainter,  was  again  lowered  down  as  before  ; 
which  shewed  that  the  priests  meant  to  be  very  artful, 
and  were  in  reality  very  ignorant ;  for  I  am  sure  there 
is  not  a  pyrotechnist  in  London  who  would  not  have 
improved  the  exhibition.  Thus,  however,  they  con- 
tinned  raising  the  light  when  strong,  and  lowering 
it  when  it  became  faint,  till  all  the  torches  were 
lighted.  No  one,  like  the  Druids  of  old,  under  the 
pain  of  excommunication,  durst  light  his  torch  at 
that  of  another  ;  all  behoved  to  be  regularly  set  on 
fire  by  the  flame  from  the  window,  otherwise  they 
were  held  in  detestation  all  the  year  round.  As  soon, 
however,  as  this  illumination  was  accomplished,  the 
bishops  and  priests  sallied  forth  from  the  tomb,  and, 
joined  by  the  other  ecclesiastics  who  were  waiting 
without  in  their  canonicals,  and  with  torches  in  their 
hands,  all  arranged  themselves  according  to  the  prece- 
dency of  their  churches,  Greeks,  Armenians,  Copts, 
Syrians,  &c.  &c.,  and  marched  three  times  round  the 
church,  bearing  their  flaming  torches  high  above  their 
heads.  The  effect  was  particularly  brilliant,  more 
especially  when  they  passed  down  or  came  up  from 


136  PALESTINE;  OR, 

encompassing  the  Greek  chapel.  The  torches,  by  this 
time,  were  either  burnt  out  or  extinguished,  and  here 
the  ceremony  closed.  The  priests  laid  aside  their 
robes  and  their  torches,  and  the  multitude  dispersed, 
more  convinced  of  any  thing,  if  they  reasoned  at  all, 
than  of  the  celestial  origin  of  the  fire  by  which  their 
torches  had  been  lighted  up.  Need  we  be  surprised," 
adds  this  intelligent  writer,  "  that  monotheistical 
Moslems  deride  the  Christian  devotion,  insult  them  to 
their  face,  and  call  them  dogs  and  idolaters  ?" 

In  MaundrelTs  time,  towards  the  end  of  the  pro- 
cession, "  there  was  a  pigeon  came  fluttering  into  the 
cupola  over  the  Sepulchre,  at  sight  of  which  there 
was  a  greater  shout  and  clamour  than  before.  This 
bird,"  he  adds,  "  the  Latins  told  us,  was  purposely 
let  fly  by  the  Greeks,  to  deceive  the  people  into  the 
opinion  that  it  was  a  visible  descent  of  the  Holy 
Ghost."  The  Latins  took  a  great  deal  of  pains  to 
expose  the  whole  ceremony  as  a  most  shameful  im- 
posture, and  a  scandal  to  the  Christian  religion  ;  "  per- 
haps  out  of  envy,"  he  remarks,  "that  others  should 
be  masters  of  so  gainful  a  business  ;  but  the  Greeks 
and  Armenians  pin  their  faith  upon  it,  and  make 
their  pilgrimages  chiefly  upon  this  motive ;  and  it  is 
the  deplorable  unhappiness  of  their  priests,  that  having 
acted  the  cheat  so  long  already,  they  are  forced  now 
to  stand  to  it,  for  fear  of  endangering  the  apostacy 
of  their  people." 

It  is  impossible  to  calculate  the  extent  of  the  evil 
resulting  from  this  pernicious  mummery,  in  its  two- 
fold character  of  a  delusion  on  the  minds  of  the  pil- 
grims, and  a  stumbling-block  in  the  way  of  the  con- 
version of  the  Mahommedans.  In  the  year  1820,  up- 
wards of  3000  pilgrims  visited  the  Holy  City.  They 


THE  HOLY   LAND.  137 

consisted  of  Greeks  from  Russia,  Turkey,  and  Asia 
Minor,  —  Armenians,  chiefly  from  Anatolia,  —  Copts, 
Syrians,  and  about  fifty  Roman  Catholics  from  Damas- 
cus. Very  few  of  them  were  able  to  read,  and  scarcely 
one  had  seen  a  copy  of  the  Scriptures.  The  true 
character  of  their  religion  may  be  judged  of  from  the 
fact,  that  the  chief  objects  of  the  Greek  pilgrims  are, 
to  obtain  candles  touched  with  the  sacred  fire,  under 
the  idea  that,  if  burned  at  a  person's  funeral,  they 
will  assuredly  save  his  soul  from  punishment ;  and  to 
bathe  themselves,  and  dip  their  linen  in  the  Jordan, 
bringing  these  clothes  back  to  be  carefully  preserved 
for  their  winding-sheet.  "  If  this  be  not  heathenism," 
it  has  been  remarked,  "  what  is  Christianity  ?"  Every 
friend  of  his  species  must  devoutly  wish  that  all  the 
murky  dens  and  grottoes  of  superstition,  which  profane 
and  infest  the  once  sacred  city,  were  laid  open  to  the 
day,  and  the  whole  system  of  scandalous  imposture 
finally  abolished. 

The  only  genuine  objects  of  interest  in  the  Church 
of  the  Sepulchre  were  the  tombs  of  Godfrey  of  Bouil- 
lon and  his  brother  Baldwin :  they  are  described  by 
Chateaubriand  as  two  stone  coffins,  supported  by  four 
little  pillars,  with  Latin  epitaphs  in  Gothic  character. 
They  had  nothing  to  recommend  them  but  their  anti- 
quity. Mr.  Buckingham  states,  that  they  have  been 
spitefully  destroyed  by  the  Greeks,  so  that  not  a 
vestige  of  them  remains. 

The  reader  must  have  had  more  than  enough  of  the 
supposititious  sacret1  places,  and  it  cannot  be  necessary 
to  particularise  the  absurd  legends  which  affect  to 
point  out  the  precise  spot  on  which  every  circum- 
stance in  the  evangelical  narrative  occurred,  down  to 
the  window  out  of  which  Dives  looked  upon  Lazarus, 
and  the  place  where  Peter's  cock  crew.  Whatever 


138  PALESTINE;  OR, 

objects  of  antiquarian  interest  Jerusalem  may  yet 
contain,  remain  to  be  brought  to  light  by  excavation, 
which,  under  present  circumstances,  is  impracticable. 
By  far  the  most  interesting  objects  within  the  city 
are 

THE  JEWS. 

THE  Jews  reside  chiefly  on  the  edge  of  Mount  Zion, 
and  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city,  near  the  shambles, 
which,  in  summer,  are  dreadfully  offensive.  Here, 
again,  we  shall  avail  ourselves  of  the  account  given 
of  the  present  condition  of  the  Jews  of  Jerusalem 
by  Dr.  Richardson.  He  reports  their  number  to  be 
10,000  ;  an  amazing  increase,  if,  correct,  within  the 
past  thirty  years.* 

"  Many  of  the  Jews  are  rich  and  in  comfortable  cir- 
cumstances ;  and  possess  a  good  deal  of  property  in 
Jerusalem ;  but  they  are  careful  to  conceal  their 
wealth,  and  even  their  comfort,  from  the  jealous  eye 
of  their  rulers,  lest,  by  awakening  their  cupidity,  some 
vile,  indefensible  plot  should  be  devised  to  their  preju- 
dice. In  going  to  visit  a  respectable  Jew  in  the  holy 
city,  it  is  a  common  thing  to  pass  to  his  house  over  a 
ruined  foreground  and  up  an  awkward  outside  stair, 
constructed  of  rough  unpolished  stones,  that  totter 
under  the  foot ;  but  it  improves  as  you  ascend,  and  at 
the  top  has  a  respectable  appearance,  as  it  ends  in  an 
agreeable  platform  in  front  of  the  house.  On  entering 
the  house  itself,  it  is  found  to  be  clean  and  well  fur- 
nished ;  the  sofas  are  covered  with  Persian  carpets, 
and  the  people  seem  happy  to  receive  you.  The 
visitor  is  entertained  with  coffee  and  tobacco,  as  is  the 

*  Mr.  Buckingham  was  told,  that,  previously  to  the  invasion 
of  Syria  by  Buonaparte,  a  law  existed  among  the  Turks,  that 
there  should  be  no  more  than  2000  Jews  in  Jerusalem,  on  pain 
of  death  to  those  who  exceeded  that  number. 


THE   HOLY  LAND.  139 

custom  in  the  houses  of  the  Turks  and  Christians. 
The  ladies  presented  themselves  with  an  ease  and 
address  that  surprised  me,  and  recalled  to  my  memory 
the  pleasing  society  of  Europe.  This  difference  of 
manner  arises  from  many  of  the  Jewish  families  in 
Jerusalem  having  resided  in  Spain  or  Portugal,  when 
the  females  had  rid  themselves  of  the  cruel  domestic 
fetters  of  the  East,  and,  on  returning  to  their  beloved 
land,  had  very  properly  maintained  their  justly  ac- 
quired freedom  and  rank  in  society.  They  almost  all 
speak  a  hroken  Italian,  so  that  conversation  goes  on 
without  the  clumsy  aid  of  an  interpreter. 

"  It  was  the  feast  of  the  Passover,  and  they  were 
all  eating  unleavened  bread  ;  some  of  which  was  pre- 
sented to  me  as  a  curiosity,  and  I  partook  of  it  merely 
that  I  might  have  the  gratification  of  eating  un- 
leavened bread  with  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Jacob,  in 
Jerusalem  ;  it  is  very  insipid  fare,  and  no  one  would 
eat  it  from  choice.  For  the  same  reason  I  went  to  the 
synagogue,  of  which  there  are  two  in  Jerusalem, 
although  I  visited  only  one.  The  form  of  worship  is 
the  same  as  in  this  country,  and  I  believe  in  every 
country  which  the  Jews  inhabit.  The  females  have  a 
separate  part  of  the  synagogue  assigned  to  them,  as  in 
the  synagogues  in  Europe,  and  in  the  Christian 
churches  all  over  the  Levant.  They  are  not,  however, 
expected  to  be  frequent  or  regular  in  their  attendance 
on  public  worship.  The  ladies  generally  make  a  point 
of  going  on  the  Sunday,  that  is  the  Friday  night  or 
Saturday  morning,  after  they  are  married  ;  and  being 
thus  introduced  in  their  new  capacity,  once  a  year  is 
considered  as  sufficient  compliance,  on  their  part,  with 
the  ancient  injunction  to  assemble  themselves  together 
in  the  house  of  prayer.  Like  the  votaries  of  some 


140  PALESTINE;  on, 

Christian  establishments,  the  Jewesses  trust  more 
to  the  prayers  of  their  priests  than  to  their  own. 

"  The  synagogues  in  Jerusalem  are  both  poor  and 
small,  not  owing  to  the  poverty  of  their  possessors,  but 
to  the  prudential  motives  above-mentioned. 

"  The  Jewesses  in  Jerusalem  speak  in  a  decided 
and  firm  tone,  unlike  the  hesitating  and  timid  voice 
of  the  Arab  and  Turkish  females ;  and  claim  the 
European  privilege  of  differing  from  their  husbands, 
and  maintaining  their  own  opinions.  They  are  fair 
and  good-looking ;  red  and  auburn  hair  are  by  no 
means  uncommon  in  either  of  the  sexes.  I  never 
saw  any  of  them  with  veils  ;  and  was  informed  that 
it  is  the  general  practice  of  the  Jewesses  in  Jerusa- 
lem to  go  with  their  faces  uncovered  ;  they  are  the 
only  females  there  who  do  so.  Generally  speaking, 
I  think  they  are  disposed  to  be  rather  of  a  plethoric 
habit;  and  the  admirers  of  size  and  softness  in  the 
fair  sex,  will  find  as  regularly  well-built  fatties,  with 
double  mouldings  in  the  neck  and  chin,  among  the 
fair  daughters  of  Jerusalem,  as  among  the  fairer 
daughters  of  England.  They  seem  particularly  liable 
to  eruptive  diseases ;  and  the  want  of  children  is 
as  great  a  heart-break  to  them  now  as  it  was  in  the 
days  of  Sarah. 

"  In  passing  up  to  the  synagogue,  I  was  particularly 
struck  with  the  mean  and  wretched  appearance  of 
the  houses  on  both  sides  of  the  streets,  as  well  as 
with  the  poverty  of  their  inhabitants.  Some  of  the  old 
men  and  old  women  had  more  withered  and  hungry 
aspects  than  any  of  our  race  I  ever  saw,  with  the 
exception  of  the  caverned  dames  at  Gornou,  in  Egyp- 
tian Thebes,  who  might  have  sat  in  a  stony  field 
as  a  picture  of  famine  the  year  after  the  flood.  The 


THE   HOLY  LAND.  Ul 

sight  of  a  poor  Jew  in  Jerusalem  has  in  it  something 
peculiarly  affecting.  The  heart  of  this  wonderful 
people,  in  whatever  clime  they  roam,  still  turns  to  it 
as  the  city  of  their  promised  rest.  They  take  pleasure 
in  her  ruins,  and  would  lick  the  very  dust  for  her 
sake.  Jerusalem  is  the  centre  around  which  the 
exiled  sons  of  Judah  build,  in  airy  dreams,  the  man- 
sions of  their  future  greatness.  In  whatever  part 
of  the  world  he  may  live,  the  heart's  desire  of  a 
Jew,  when  gathered  to  his  fathers,  is  to  he  buried 
in  Jerusalem.  Thither  they  return  from  Spain  and 
Portugal,  from  Egypt  and  Barbary,  and  other  coun- 
tries among  which  they  have  been  scattered ;  and 
when,  after  all  their  longings,  and  all  their  struggles 
up  the  steeps  of  life,  we  see  them  poor,  and  blind, 
and  naked  in  the  streets  of  their  once  happy  Zion, 
he  must  have  a  cold  heart  that  can  remain  untouched 
by  their  sufferings,  without  uttering  a  prayer  that  the 
light  of  a  reconciled  countenance  would  shine  on  the 
darkness  of  Judah,  and  the  day-star  of  Bethlehem 
arise  in  their  hearts. 

"  The  Jews  are  the  best  cicerones  in  Jerusalem, 
because  they  generally  give  the  ancient  names  of 
places,  which  the  guides  and  interpreters  belonging 
to  the  different  convents  do  not.  They  are  not  for- 
ward in  presenting  themselves,  and  must  generally  be 
sought  for." 

ICHNOGRAPHY,  POPULATION  OF  THE  CITY,  &c. 

CHATEAUBRIAND  gives  the  following  statement  of 
the  ichnography  of  the  city.  The  three  principal 
streets  are,  karat*  bab  el  hamond  (the  street  of  the  gate 
of  the  column,  or  Damascus  gate),  crossing  the  city 

*  More  properly  tarrek,  street,  hamt  signifying  lane. 


142  PALESTINE;  OR, 

from  north  to  south  ;  souk  el  kebir,  the  street  oi'  the 
great  bazar,  running  from  east  to  west ;  and  ha  rat 
el  allam,  the  Via  Dolorosa,  running  from  St.  Stephen's 
gate  to  Calvary.  Besides  these,  he  enumerates  seven 
other  smaller  streets :  harat  el  Muslmm,  the  street  of 
the  Turks  ;  harat  el  Nassara,  the  street  of  the  Chris- 
tians, leading  from  the  church  of  the  Sepulchre  to  the 
Latin  convent ;  harat  el  Arman,  the  street  of  the 
Armenians,  to  the  east  of  the  castle  ;  harat  el  Youd, 
the  street  of  the  Jews,  in  which  are  the  shambles  ; 
harat  bob  hotta,  the  street  near  the  temple ;  harat  el 
zahara,  the  public  quarter ;  and  harat  el  Maugrabe, 
the  street  of  the  Maugrabiiis.  These  Maugrabins, 
lie  states,  are  the  people  of  the  west  of  Barbary. 
"  Among  them  are  included  some  descendants  of  the 
Moors,  driven  from  Spain  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 
These  exiles  were  charitably  received  in  the  Holy 
City ;  a  mosque  was  built  for  their  use ;  and  bread, 
fruits,  and  money,  are  yet  distributed  among  them. 
The  heirs  of  the  proud  Abencerrages,  the  elegant 
architects  of  the  Alhambra,  are  become  porters  at 
Jerusalem,  who  are  sought  after  on  account  of  their 
intelligence,  and  as  couriers  are  esteemed  for  their 
swiftness.  What  would  Saladin  and  Richard  say,  if, 
suddenly  returning  to  the  world,  they  were  to  find  the 
Moorish  champions  transformed  into  the  door-keepers 
of  the  holy  sepulchre,  and  the  Christian  knights  re- 
presented by  brethren  of  the  mendicant  order  !  "  * 

The  Mussulmans  reside  chiefly  round  the  hardm 
schereeff;  the  Christians,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  their 
own  convents.  Those  of  the  Roman  Catholic  per- 
suasion live  near  the  convent  of  St.  Salvadore,  in  the 
north-west  corner  of  the  city.  Those  of  the  Greek 

*  Travels  in  Greece,  &c.  vol.  ii.  p.  89. 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  143 

church  reside  lower  down  the  hill,  towards  the  south- 
east, near  the  small  and  ruined  convent  of  St.  John, 
which  is  at  present  occupied  hy  Syrian  Christians. 
To  the  south,  and  nearly  on  the  summit  of  Mount 
Zion,  stands  the  Armenian  convent  of  St.  James, 
by  far  the  most  magnificent  in  Jerusalem,  having  a 
spacious  walled  garden  attached  to  it.  The  Armenian 
patriarch,  a  dignified  old  man,  resides  in  the  convent^ 
together  with  the  bishop,  and  a  number  of  the  in- 
ferior clergy.  The  apartments  are  small,  but  well 
furnished  with  sofas  and  rich  Persian  carpets.  "  Every 
thing  belonging  to  it,"  says  Dr.  Clarke,  "  is  Oriental." 
The  usual  dress  of  the  Armenian  clergy  is  dark  blue  ; 
they  even  carry  it  so  far  as  to  wear  pocket  handker- 
chiefs of  the  same  colour.  "  The  dresses  in  which  they 
officiate  are  the  most  sumptuous,"  says  Dr.  Richard- 
son, "  I  ever  saw,  excepting  on  some  of  the  dignitaries 
in  St.  Peter's  at  Rome."  Their  church  is  also  the 
richest,  and  largest,  and  most  numerously  attended  of 
all  the  Christian  churches.  According  to  Maundrell, 
there  are  two  altars  set  out  with  extraordinary  splen- 
dour, "  being  decked  with  rich  mitres,  embroidered 
copes,  crosses  both  silver  and  gold,  crowns,  chalices, 
and  other  church  utensils  without  number.  In  the 
middle  of  the  church,  is  a  pulpit  made  of  tortoise-shell 
and  mother-of-pearl,  with  a  beautiful  canopy  or  cupola 
over  it,  of  the  same  fabric.  The  tortoise-shell  and 
mother-of-pearl  are  so  exquisitely  mingled  and  inlaid 
in  eaclx  other,  that  the  work  far  exceeds  the  material." 
Mr.  Buckingham  does  not  notice  the  pulpit,  but  de- 
scribes three  altars,  fronting  the  door  of  entrance  ;  these 
are,  he  concurs  in  stating,  as  splendid  as  wealth  could 
make  them.  "  The  church,"  he  says,  "  though  small, 
is  of  a  lofty  height,  and  crowned  by  a  central  dome, 
and  being  entirely  free  of  pews  or  stalls  of  any  de- 


144  PALESTINE;  OR, 

scription,  looks  considerably  larger  than  it  really  is. 
The  walls  are  every  where  covered  with  pictures 
executed  in  the  worst  taste ;  yet,  from  the  mere  pro- 
fusion of  their  numbers,  and  the  gayety  of  their 
colouring,  they  produce  on  the  whole  an  agreeable 
effect.  The  pillars  both  of  the  church  and  the  offices 
of  the  sacristy,  as  well  as  the  portals  of  the  door  lead- 
ing to  it,  and  the  inner  walls,  are  all  cased  with 
porcelain  tiles,  painted  in  blue  with  crosses  and  other 
sacred  devices.  The  mosaic  pavement  is  the  most 
beautiful  of  its  kind.  The  whole  is  carefully  covered 
with  rich  Turkey  carpets,  excepting  only  a  small  space 
before  the  great  altar.  In  a  small  recess  on  the  left 
is  shewn  the  sanctuary  of  St.  James,  thought  to  be 
on  the  spot  on  which  he  was  beheaded  ;  and  this  is 
ornamented  Avith  sculpture  in  white  marble,  with 
massy  silver  lamps,  and  gilding,  and  painting,  pro- 
ducing altogether  a  surprising  richness  of  effect.  The 
door  which  leads  to  this,  is  still  more  beautiful,  and 
is  composed  entirely  of  tortoise-shell,  mother-of-pearl, 
gold,  and  silver,  all  exquisitely  inlaid.  "*  Hassel- 
quist  dwells  on  the  ornaments  of  this  church  as 
"  well  worth  seeing,  being,  past  all  doubt,  the  richest 
and  most  valuable  that  any  church  in  the  East  can 
boast  of,  and  perhaps  equal  to  the  ornaments  of  the 
largest  and  richest  Christian  churches  in  Europe. 
The  ornaments  of  the  Latins,"  he  says,  "  are  magni- 
ficent, and  perhaps  in  a  better  taste ;  but  they  them- 
selves own  that  the  Armenians  are  richer.  The 
Greeks  in  this  respect  are  not  to  be  compared  with 
either  of  them."  He  tells  us  that  the  Armenian 
convent  had  1000  chambers  for  pilgrims,  besides  those 
of  the  monks ;  and  that  not  a  year  passed,  but  more 

*  Travels,  vol.  i.  pp.  370,  371. 


THE    HOLY    LAND.  145 

than  that  number  arrived  from  Armenia,  Persia,  and 
Turkey,  who  never  leave  it  without  considerable 
alms."  *  The  disposition  of  the  worthy  Naturalist  to 
deal  in  round  numbers,  however,  is  shewn  by  his 
stating  Jerusalem  to,  contain  among  its  inhabitants 
about  20,000  Jews.  Pilgrims  of  the  above  persuasion 
come-in  great  numbers  from  Constantinople,  Armenia, 
Egypt,  and  all  parts  of  the  Levant,  to  keep  the  feast 
.  of  Easter,  and  dip  their  shirts  in  the  Jordan. 

The  Armenians  are  described  by  Dr.  R.,  as  "a 
strong,  good-looking  race  of  people,  highly  dignified 
in  their  deportment,  civil  and  industrious.  There 
are  many  of  them  settled  at  Jerusalem  in  comfortable 
circumstances.  Their  houses  are  well  kept  and  well 
furnished.  On  visiting  them,  the  stranger  is  received 
with  a  warmth  unusual  even  among  the  Greeks,  and 
it  is  the  more  agreeable  for  being  sincere.  He  is 
treated  with  coffee  and  a  pipe  of  tobacco,  a  glass  of 
liquor,  cakes,  biscuits,  and  different  kinds  of  sweet- 
meats, which  are  handed  to  him  by  the  mistress  of  the 
family,  her  daughter,  or  servant;  all  being  usually 
in  attendance,  although  there  should  be  only  one  guest 
to  be  served.  They  take  the  cup  or  glass  from  him 
when  he  has  done  with  it,  and  kiss  his  hand  as  they 
receive  it.  They  pour  water  on  his  hands  for  him  to 
wash  after  he  has  done  eating,  and  give  him  a  towel 
to  dry  them ;  on  receiving  which,  they  again  lay  hold 
of  the  hand  and  kiss  it,  and  then  retire  to  their  station 
with  the  servant  near  the  door.  Mother,  daughter, 
and  man-servant,  are  all  alike  candidates  to  take  the 

•  "  Three  years  ago,"  s-ys  Hasselquist  (in  1751,)  "an  Armenian 
from  Persia  paid  for  the  first  fire,  (that  is,  the  first  to  receive  the 
sacred  fire  on  Easter  eve  from  the  bishop,)  30,000  sequins ;  a  sum 
which  perhaps  never  was  given  for  an  answer  from  the  Delphian 
Oracle." — Travels,  p.  138 

PART   I  K 


146  PALESTINE;  OR, 

cup  and  kiss  the  hand ;  and,  in  point  of  etiquette,  it 
matters  not  to  which  of  them  the  guest  delivers  it. 
They  seldom  sit  down  in  his  presence,  and  never 
without  much  entreaty,  even  though  the  state  of  their 
health  should  be  such  as  to  render  it  improper  for 
them  to  stand ;  afraid  that  by  so  doing  they  should 
be  thought  deficient  in  respect  to  their  visiter.  The 
Armenian  ladies  have  a  sedate  and  pleasant  manner, 
with  much  of  the  Madonna  countenance  ;  their  eyes 
are  generally  dark,  their  complexion  florid,  but  they 
are  rarely  enriched  with  that  soft  intelligent  expression 
which  characterises  the  eye  of  the  Greek  or  Jewish 
female." 

The  present  population  has  been  variously  esti- 
mated from  20,000  to  30,000  souls,  and  can  only  be 
conjectured :  in  fact,  the  numbers  are  continually 
fluctuating.  Dr.  Richardson  classes  the  inhabitants 
thus  :  5,000  Mussulmans,  5,000  Christians,  and 
10,000  Jews.  Mr.  Buckingham  says,  the  Mahom- 
medans  are  the  most  numerous ;  but  he  must  have 
been  misinformed  respecting  the  number  of  Jews. 
He  was  told,  he  says,  by  Moallim  Zacharias,  the 
banker  of  the  governor,  and  chief  of  the  Jews  at 
Jerusalem,  that  there  were  not  one  thousand  male 
Jews  within  the  city,  but  at  least  three  thousand 
females.  "  No  male  Jews,"  he  said,  "  came  hither, 
but  such  as  were  contented  to  live  poorly,  or  had 
money  to  let  out  at  interest  for  their  subsistence,  as 
there  was  no  commerce  practised  in  the  place ;  and 
all,  therefore,  were  either  rabbies,  or  students,  or 
devout  persons.  Widows,  however,  from  all  countries, 
if  they  could  get  to  Jerusalem,  were  sure  of  being 
maintained  by  the  community  of  their  own  religion  ; 
and  accordingly,  as  many  as  could  get  together  the 
means  of  doing  so,  flocked  here  for  that  purpose. 


T»E    HOLY    LAND.  147 

The  great  happiness  of  the  people,"  he  added,  "  was 
to  die  at  Jerusalem,  and  to  be  buried  in  the  valley 
of  Jehoshaphat."  *  There  might  be  motives  for  con- 
cealing the  real  number  of  the  Jewish  population. 
If,  however,  the  fixed  Jewish  population  be  taken  at 
this  low  estimate  of  about  5,000,  the  number  may 
very  probably  be  raised  by  occasional  inhabitants  to 
10,000.  The  Mahommedans  consist  of  nearly  equal 
portions  of  Osmanli  Turks  from  Asia  Minor;  descend- 
ants of  pure  Turks  by  blood,  but  Arabians  by  birth  • 
a  mixture  of  Turkish  and  Arab  blood  by  inter- 
marriages ;  and  pure  Syrian  Arabs.  Of  Christians, 
the  proportions  are  as  follow  :  the  Roman  Catholics 
consist  of  the  few  monks  of  the  Franciscan  convent, 
who  are  chiefly  Spaniards,  and  the  still  fewer  Latin 
pilgrims  who  occasionally  repair  thither ;  the  Greeks 
are  the  most  numerous  ;  the  Armenians  rank  next  to 
the  Greeks  as  to  numbers,  but  far  exceed  them  in 
wealth  and  influence ;  the  Copts  are  reduced  almost 
to  nothing ;  and  the  other  sects,  Abyssinians,  Maro- 
nites,  &c.,  are  lost  in  the  crowd.f  The  period  during 

*  Buckingham's  Travels,  second  edition,  8vo.  vol.  i.  p.  399. 
t  Mr.  JoUiffe  gives  4he  supposed  numbers  as  follow.— 

Jews. . .  .from  3,000  to    4,000 

Roman  Catholics  ....       800 

Greeks 2,000 

Armenians 400 

Copts 50 

Mahommedans 13,000 

20,250 

In  this  calculation  the  Jews  and  the  Armenians  are  certainly 
under-rated  :  the  Latins  a"d  Mussulmen  are  over-estimated.  Mr. 
Jolliffe's  information  was  confessedly  drawn  from  very  imperfect 
sources;  probably  the  Christians;  Mr.  Buckingham's  informant 
was  a  Jew ;  Dr.  Richardson's  was  Turkish  authority.  This  may 
partly  explain  the  variations. 


148  PALESTINE;  OR, 

which  the  city  is  most  populous,  is  from  Christmas  to 
Easter  :  at  the  latter  festival,  it  is  crowded,  and  the 
spectacle  of  the  motley  population  is  such  as  can 
scarcely  be  paralleled. 

BEAD  AND  RELIC  TRADE 

IN  Jerusalem,  there  is  scarcely  any  trade,  and  but 
few  manufactures  :  the  only  flourishing  one  is  that  of 
crucifixes,  chaplets,  beads,  shells,  and  relics,  of  which 
whole  cargoes  are  shipped  from  Jaffa,  for  Italy,  Spain, 
and  Portugal.*  The  shells  are  of  the  kind  called 
naother-of-pearl,  ingeniously  though  coarsely  sculp, 
tured  into  various  shapes.  Those  of  the  largest  size, 
and  the  most  perfect,  are  formed  into  clasps  for  the 
zones  of  the  Greek  women.  Such  clasps  are  worn  by 
the  ladies  of  Cyprus,  Crete,  Rhodes,  and  other  islands 
of  the  Archipelago.  All  these,  after  being  purchased, 
are  taken  to  the  church  of  St.  Sepulchre,  where  they 
undergo  the  process  of  benediction  or  consecration, 
and  are  then  fit  for  use.  In  like  manner,  beads  and 
crosses  purchased  at  Loretto,  are  placed  in  a  wooden 
bowl  belonging  to  the  house  of  the  Virgin,  to  be  con- 
secrated for  the  purpose  of  being  worn  as  amulets.f 
The  beads  are  manufactured  either  from  date  stones, 
or  from  a  very  hard  kind  of  wood  called  Mecca  fruit: 
when  first  wrought,  it  appears  of  the  colour  of  box ; 
it  is  then  dyed  yellow,  black,  or  red.  They  are  of 
various  sizes  ;  the  smaller  are  the  most  esteemed,  on 
account  of  the  greater  number  used  to  fill  a  string ; 
and  rosaries  sell  at  higher  prices  when  they  have  been 
long  worn,  because  the  beads  acquire  a  polish  by 

*  Buckingham's  Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  6.    Clarke's  Travels,  vol.  iv. 
p.  »06. 
f  Clarke's  Travels,  vol.  iv.  8vo.  p.  304. 


THE    HOLY    LAND.  149 

friction.  Strings  of  beads  are  in  request  equally 
among  the  Moslems  and  the  Christians.  The  custom 
of  carrying  them  appears  to  have  been  in  use  long 
before  the  Christian  era,  and  still  prevails  in  the 
East.  This  is  but  one  instance  among  many,  of  the 
Heathen  origin  of  the  Romish  customs.  The  shell 
worn  as  a  badge  by  pilgrims  had  probably  a  similar 
origin  :  it  was  an  ancient  symbol  of  Astarte,  the 
Syrian  Venus.  Rosaries  and  amulets  are  made  also  of 
the  black  fetid  lime-stone  of  the  Dead  Sea,  to  be  worn 
as  a  charm  against  the  plague.  Amulets  of  the  same 
mineral  substance  have  been  found  in  the  chambers 
below  the  pyramids  of  Sakhara,  in  Upper  Egypt :  the 
effluvia  is  owing  to  the  presence  of  sulphuretted  hydro- 
gen. The  Armenians  and  the  Jews  are  the  chief 
traders  in  these  sacred  wares. 

The  local  government  of  Jerusalem  consists  of  the 
mozdllam,  or  military  governor ;  the  moula  cadi,  or 
chief  of  the  police ;  the  mufti,  the  head  of  the  eccle- 
siastical and  judicial  departments  ;  the  capo  verde,  or 
agent  for  the  mosque  of  Omar ;  and  the  soubaski,  or 
town -major.  All  these,  with  the  exception  of  the 
mufti,  hold  their  appointment  at  the  pleasure  of  the 
pacha  of  Damascus. 

MOUNT  SIGN. 

THE  Armenian  convent,  with  its  church  and  gar- 
dens, occupies  the  whole  of  that  part  of  Mount  Sion 
which  is  now  within  the  walls :  the  greater  part  is 
now  excluded  from  the  city ;  and  for  the  best  descrip. 
tion  of  this  interesting  site,  we  must  avail  ourselves  of 
Dr.  Richardson's  Travels. 

"  Passing  out  by  Zion  gate,  or,  as  it  is  more 
frequently  denominated,  the  gate  of  David,  the  first 


150  PALESTINE;  OR, 

object  that  meets  the  eye  of  the  traveller,  is  a  long 
dingy-looking  Turkish  mosque,  situated  on  the  middle 
of  Mount  Zion.  It  is  called  the  mosque  of  the  pro- 
phet David,  and  is  said  to  be  built  over  his  tomb, 
which  is  still  exhibited  in  the  interior,  and  is  held  in 
the  greatest  possible  veneration  by  the  Mussulmans. 
The  Santones  belonging  to  the  mosque  in  Mount 
Zion,  are  the  most  powerful  in  Jerusalem.  Part  of 
this  building  was  anciently  the  Church  of  the  Coena- 
culum,  where  our  Saviour  ate  the  last  supper  with 
his  disciples  ;  and  I  was  shewn  into  an  upper  room 
in  the  front  of  the  building,  which  both  the  Santon 
and  the  Ciceroni  affirmed  to  be  the  identical  room  in 
which  this  memorable  event,  to  which  the  Christian 
world  owes  the  institution  of  the  Holy  Sacrament  of 
the  Supper,  took  place.  I  should  probably  have  be- 
lieved them,  had  1  not  learnt  from  higher  authority, 
that,  thirty-nine  years  thereafter,  not  only  the  walls, 
but  every  house  in  Jerusalem,  had  been  rased  from  its 
foundations,  and  the  ground  ploughed  up  by  the 
Roman  soldiers,  in  order  that  they  might  discover  the 
treasures  which  they  supposed  the  unfortunate  Jews 
had  hidden  under  their  feet. 

"  To  the  right  of  the  mosque,  and  between  it  and 
the  gate  of  the  city,  there  is  a  small  Armenian  chapel, 
built  on  the  spot  where  formerly  stood  the  palace 
of  Caiaphas.  It  is  remarkable  for  nothing  but  that 
the  stone  which  closed  up  the  door  of  the  holy  sepul- 
chre, is  built  in  an  altar  at  the  upper  end  of  it,  and 
exposed  in  several  places  to  be  kissed  and  caressed, 
h'ke  other  precious  relics.  It  is  an  unpolished  block 
of  compact  lime-stone,  the  same  with  the  rock  on 
which  the  city  stands,  and  does  not,  like  the  block 
of  polished  marble  in  present  use,  carry  in  its  face 
the  refutation  of  its  once  having  served  the  office 


THE    HOLY    LAND.  151 

assigned  to  it,  though  I  confess  there  is  almost  as 
little  probability  that  it  ever  did. 

"  A  few  paces  to  the  west  of  the  chapel,  there  is  a 
Christian  bury  ing- ground ;  and  among  the  lettered 
tomb-stones  are  several  inscribed  in  the  language  of 
our  own  country.  They  record  the  names,  and  cover 
the  ashes  of  Englishmen,  who  are  reported  to  have 
met  their  deaths  in  a  way  not  very  creditable  to  the 
Franciscan  convent.  A  little  to  the  south  of  this^  is 
shewn -the  place  where  the  Virgin  Mary  expired;  and 
on  the  north  side  of  the  gate  is  shewn — what  ?  The 
place  where  the  cock  crew  to  Peter. 

"  Such  is  the  sum  total  of  the  information  which 
the  traveller  receives  from  his  guide  respecting  the 
topography  of  this  interesting  spot,  Mount  Zion. 
At  the  time  when  I  visited  this  sacred  ground,  one 
part  of  it  supported  a  crop  of  barley,  another  was 
undergoing  the  labour  of  the  plough,  and  the  soil 
turned  up  consisted  of  stone  and  lime  mixed  with 
earth,  such  as  is  usually  met  with  in  the  foundations 
of  ruined  cities.  It  is  nearly  a  mile  in  circumference, 
is  highest  on  the  west  side,  and  towards  the  east 
falls  down  in  broad  terraces  on  the  upper  part  of  the 
mountain,  and  narrow  ones  on  the  side,  as  it  slopes 
down  towards  the  brook  Kedron.  Each  terrace  is 
divided  from  the  one  above  it  by  a  low  wall  of  dry 
stone,  built  of  the  ruins  of  this  celebrated  spot.  The 
terraces  near  the  bottom  of  the  hill  are  still  used  as 
gardens,  and  are  watered  from  the  pool  of  Siloam. 
They  belong  chiefly  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  small 
village  of  Siloa  immediately  opposite.  We  have  here 
another  remarkable  instance  of  the  special  fulfilment 
of  prophecy :  '  Therefore  shall  Zion  for  your  sakes  be 
ploughed  as  a  field,  and  Jerusalem  shall  become  heaps.' 
— Micah  iii.  12. 


152  PALESTINE;  OR, 

"  Mount  Ziou  is  considerably  higher  than  the 
ground  on  the  north,  on  which  the  ancient  city 
stood,  or  that  on  the  east  leading  on  to  the  valley 
of  Jehoshaphat,  but  has  very  little  relative  height 
above  the  ground  on  the  south  and  on  the  west,  and 
must  have  owed  its  boasted  strength  principally  to 
a  deep  ravine,  by  which  it  is  encompassed  on  the 
east,  south,  and  west,  and  the  strong  high  walls  and 
towers  by  which  it  was  enclosed  and  flanked  com- 
pletely round.  This  ravine,  or  valley,  as  the  term 
has  been  rendered,  though  the  word  trench  or  ditch 
would  have  conveyed  a  more  correct  idea  of  its  ap- 
pearance, seems  to  have  been  formed  by  art  on  the 
south  and  on  the  west,  the  surface  of  the  ground  on 
each  side  being  nearly  of  equal  height,  though  Mount 
Zion  is  certainly  the  highest,  yet  so  little  so  that  it 
could  not  have  derived  much  additional  strength  from 
its  elevation.  The  breadth  of  this  ditch  is  stated  by 
Strabo,  to  be  about  150  feet,  and  its  depth,  or  the 
height  of  Mount  Zion  above  the  bottom  of  the  ravine, 
to  be  about  sixty  feet.  The  measurement,  in  both 
instances,  is  nearly  correct,  and  furnishes  one  among 
many  proofs  that  we  derive  from  other  sources,  that 
the  places  now  called  by  these  names  are  the  same 
as  those  that  were  anciently  so  denominated.  The 
bottom  of  this  ravine  is  rock,  covered  with  a  thiii 
sprinkling  of  earth,  and,  in  the  winter  season,  is  the 
natural  channel  for  conveying  off  the  water  that  falls 
into  it  from  the  higher  ground ;  but,  on  both  sides, 
the  rock  is  cut  perpendicularly  down,  and  most  pro- 
bably it  was  the  quarry  from  which  the  greater  part 
of  the  stones  were  taken  for  building  the  city.  The 
precipitous  edge  of  the  ravine  is  more  covered  with 
earth  on  the  side  of  Mount  Zion  than  on  the  other 
side;  which  is  probably  owing  to  the  barbarous  custom 


THE    HOLY    LAND.  153 

of  razing  cities  from  their  foundations,  and  tumbling 
both  earth  and  stone  into  the  ditch  below.  The  loose 
stones  have  been  all  removed  from  it  for  building  the 
present  city.  This  ravine  extends  further  north  than 
the  present  wall  of  the  city,  and  ends  in  a  gradual 
slope  of  deep  earth,  so  as  to  countenance  the  opinion 
that  it  once  extended  further  than  it  does  now." 

PLACES  WITHOUT  THE  WALLS  OF  JERUSALEM. 

IT  only  remains  to  describe  the  objects  of  anti- 
quarian curiosity,  which  present  themselves  without 
the  walls  of  modern  Jerusalem.  We  have  by  antici- 
pation described  the  royal  sepulchres,  which  lie  to  the 
north,  in  examining  the  boundaries  of  the  ancient 
city.  Before  we  descend  into  the  valley  of  Jehosha- 
phat,  we  must  stop  to  notice,  close  by  St.  Stephen's 
gate,  the  supposed  remains  of  the  pool  of  Bethesda. 
Maundrell  gives  the  measurement — 120  paces  long, 
forty  broad,  and  at  least  eight  deep ;  but,  he  adds, 
void  of  water.  "  At  its  west  end  it  discovers  some 
old  arches,  now  dammed  up.  These,  some  will  have 
to  be  the  five  porches  in  which  sate  that  multitude 
of  lame,  halt,  and  blind.  (John  v.)  But  the  mischief 
is,  instead  of  five,  there  are  but  three  of  them." 
Pococke,  in  speaking  of  the  same  place,  makes  the 
following  sensible  remarks  :  "  There  seems  to  have 
been  a  deep  fossae  to  the  north  of  Mount  Moriah," 
(by  which  no  doubt  it  was  divided  from  Bezetha.) 
"  the  east  part  of  which  is  still  to  be  seen,  and  is  called 
by  the  monks  the  pool  of  Bethesda.  At  the  east  end 
of  it,  at  the  entrance  to  the  court  of  the  temple,  are 
remains  of  some  buildings  of  very  large  hewn  stone, 
particularly  an  entablature  in  a  good  taste,  which 
might  be  part  of  an  entrance  that  Hadrian  might 
have  made  to  his  new  grove.  If  this  fossee  was  car- 
K  2 


154  PALESTINE;  OR, 

ried  all  along  to  the  north  of  Mount  Mori  ah,  it  must 
have  passed  where  the  house  of  Pilate  is  now  shewn, 
which  part  might  be  filled  up  with  the  ruins  of  the 
Temple.  If  the  Christians,  when  they  had  possession 
of  Jerusalem,  had  dug  here  and  in  other  parts, 
especially  to  the  east  of  the  temple,  and  to  the  south 
of  Mount  Zion,  they  might,  without  doubt,  have 
found  great  remains  of  the  materials  of  the  Temple 
and  of  the  palaces  on  Mount  Zion,  and  probably  have 
been  able  to  pass  some  judgement  on  the  architecture 
of  them.  This  fossee  does  not  seem  to  be  the  pool 
of  Bethesda,  which,  by  all  accounts,  must  have  been 
to  the  south,  or  about  the  south-west  of  Mount 
Moriah.  In  St.  Jerome's  time,  there  were  two  pools, 
one  filled  by  the  rain  ;  the  other  was  of  reddish  water, 
as  if  it  retained  the  colour  of  the  sacrifices ;  and  I 
suppose  it  was  about  the  gardens  to  the  south  of  the 
church  of  the  purification,  which  is  within  the  site 
of  the  court  of  the  Temple ;  and  the  quarter  called 
Ophel  was  also  probably  in  this  part  of  the  city.  For 
it  was  at  the  south  corner  of  the  Temple,  where  the 
Nethinims  lived,  who  had  the  care  of  the  sacrifisea, 
and  might  extend  to  the  north  part  of  the  hill  or 
valley."  * 

Descending  into  the  valley  from  St.  Stephen's  gate, 
the  traveller  comes  to  the  bed  of  the  brook  Kedron, 
which  is  but  a  few  paces  over.  This  brook  is  stated 
by  Pococke,  to  have  its  rise  a  little  way  further  to 
the  north,  but  its  source  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
ascertained.  Like  the  Ilissus,  it  is  dry  at  least  nine 
months  in  the  year;  its  bed  is  narrow  and  deep, 
which  indicates  that  it  must  formerly  have  been  the 
channel  for  waters  that  have  found  some  other  and 

•  Pocockc's  Travels,  book  i.  chap.  3. 


THE    HOLY    LAND.  155 

probably  subterranean  course.  There  is  now  no  water 
in  it,  except  after  heavy  rains.  A  bridge  is  thrown 
over  it  a  little  below  the  gate  of  St.  Stephen ;  and 
they  say,  that  when  there  is  water,  unless  the  torrent 
swells  much,  which  very  rarely  occurs,  it  all  runs 
under  ground  to  the  north  of  this  bridge.  The  course 
of  the  brook  is  along  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  to 
the  south-west  corner  of  the  city,  and  then,  turning 
to  the  south,  it  runs  to  the  Dead  Sea. 

Passing  over  this  bridge,  a  descent  of  several  steps 
to  the  left  conducts  the  traveller  to  the  sepulchre  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin ;  a  lofty  and  spacious  vault  or  cave, 
(Chateaubriand  terms  it  a  subterraneous  church,) 
hewn  with  surprising  labour  in  a  stratum  of  hard 
compact  lime-stone,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  persons  here  interred,  must  have  been  held  in 
high  veneration,  or  of  distinguished  rank.  Neither 
Eusebius,  Epiphanius,  nor  Jerome,  however,  mentions 
a  syllable  to  authorise  the  tradition.  The  earliest 
notice  of  this  sepulchre  as  that  of  the  Virgin,  occurs 
in  the  writings  of  Adamnanus,  the  Irish  monk,  who 
described  it  from  the  testimony  of  Arculfus,  in  the 
seventh  century ;  and  it  is  mentioned  by  another 
writer,  who  lived  in  the  beginning  of  the  eighth.* 
These  are  authorities*  undeserving  of  attention,  when 
opposed  to  the  negative  evidence  supplied  by  the 
silence  of  the  above-mentioned  writers,  and  the  high 
improbability  that,  at  the  period  of  the  Virgin's  death, 
the  early  Christians  should  have  had  it  in  their  power 
to  pay  this  magnificent  tribute  of  veneration  for  her 
memory.f  Pococke,  upon  the  authority  of  authors 

*  Clarke's  Travels,  8vo.  vol.  iv.  chap.  8,  p.  368. 

t  Chateaubriand  says :  "  Though  Mary  did  not  die  at  Jerusalem, 
yet,  according  to  the  opinion  of  several  of  the  fathers,  she  was 
miraculously  buried  at  Gethsemane  by  the  apostles.  Enthymius 


153  PALESTINE;  OR, 

whom  he  has  not  named,  thinks  it  probable  that  it 
was  the  sepulchre  of  Meliseudis,  queen  of  Jerusalem. 
You  descend  to  it  by  a  flight  of  fifty  (Maundrell  says 
forty-seven)  marble  steps,  each  step  twenty  feet  wide  : 
these  are  conjectured  by  Dr.  Clarke  to  be  of  less  high 
antiquity  than  the  sepulchre  itself,  which  is  the 
largest  of  all  the  cryplee  or  caves  near  Jerusalem,  and 
jio  era  can  be  with  any  certainty  fixed  upon  as  the 
date  of  its  construction.  "  It  ranks,"  he  remarks, 
"  among  those  colossal  works  which  were  accomplished 
by  the  inhabitants  of  Asia  Minor,  of  Phenicia,  and  of 
Palestine,  in  the  first  ages  ;  works  which  differ  from 
those  of  Greece,  in  displaying  less  of  beauty,  but  more 
of  arduous  enterprise  ;  works  which  remind  us  of  the 
people,  rather  than  of  the  artist ;  which  we  refer  to  as 
monuments  of  history,  rather  than  of  taste."  Appro- 
priate chapels  within  this  same  cave,  distinguish  the 
supposed  tombs  of  Anna,  Joachim,  and  Joseph  also. 
In  that  of  the  Virgin,  the  different  Christian  sects 
have  each  their  altar,  and  even  the  Turks  have  an 
oratory  here. 

Proceeding  along  the  valley,  at  the  foot  of  Mount 
Olivet  is  the  garden  of  Gethsemane ;  an  even  plat  of 
ground,  says  Maundrell,  not  above  57  yards  square, 
where  are  shewn  some  old  olive  trees,  supposed  to 
identify  the  spot  to  which  our  Lord  was  wont  to 
retort.  (John  xviii.  1,  2.)  To  the  south  of  this  spot, 
in  the  rocks  on  the  eastern  side,  are  what  are  called 
the  sepulchres  of  the  Patriarchs  :  these  are  four  in 
number,  and  are  severally  distinguished  as  the  se- 

relates  the  history  of  this  marvellous  funeral.  St.  Thomas  having 
caused  the  coffin  to  be  opened,  nothing  was  found  in  it  but  a  virgin 
robe,  the  simple  and  mean  garment  of  that  queen  of  glory,  whom 
the  angels  had  conveyed  to  heaven."  !!!  The  identity  of  the  sepul- 
chre may  be  judged  of  by  the  legend. 


THE    HOLY    LAND.  157 

pulehre  of  Jelioshaphat,  of  Absalom,  of  St.  James,  and 
of  Zachariah.  In  those  of  Absalom  and  Zachariah, 
the  rock  has  been  cut  away  so  as  to  form  an  area,  in 
the  centre  of  which  appears  a  monument  of  prodigious 
size,  seeming  to  consist  of  a  single  stone,  although 
standing  as  if  erected  by  an  architect,  ajid  adorned 
with  columns  appearing  to  support  the  edifice,  of 
which  they  are,  in  fact,  integral  parts;  the  whole 
<bf  each  mausoleum  being  of  one  mass  of  stone,  hewn, 
and  not  built.  The  ornaments  of  Absalom's  sepulchre 
consist  of  twenty-four  semi-columns  of  the  Doric  order, 
not  fluted ;  six  on  each  front  of  the  monument,  which 
stands  about  fifteen  feet  from  the  rock  out  of  which  it 
has  been  hewn.  "  On  the  capital  is  the  frieze,  with 
the  triglyph  ;  and  above  the  frieze  rises  a  socle,  which 
supports  a  triangular  pyramid,  too  lofty  for  the  total 
height  of  the  tomb.  The  pyramid  is  not  of  the  same 
piece  as  the  rest  of  the  monument."  *  There  is  a 
room  cut  out  of  the  rock  in  Absalom's  pillar,  con- 
siderably above  the  level  of  the  ground  on  the  outside. 
In  the  sides  of  this  room  are  niches,  apparently 
designed  to  receive  corpses  or  coffins,  t  It  is  an 
extraordinary  circumstance,  that  to  these  two  sepul- 
chres there  is  at  present  no  perceptible  entrance  ;  the 
only  way  of  gaining  admittance  into  the  interior  of 
that  of  Absalom,  is  through  a  hole  recently  broken 
for  the  purpose  ;  to  that  of  Zachariah  there  is  none. 
Pococke  conjectures,  that  if  the  former  served  as  a 
sepulchre,  there  might  originally  have  been  some 
under- ground  entrance,  now  closed  up—"  as  I  was 
informed,"  he  addt,  "  there  is  to  the  tomb  of  Za- 
chariah, which,  they  say,  is  known  to  the  Jews,  and 
that  they  privately  carry  their  dead  to  it."  This  latter 

•  Chateaubriand,  vol.  il.  p.  100.        t  Pococke,  book  i.  chap.  0. 


158  PALESTINE;  OR, 

sepulchre  is  described  by  Chateaubriand  as  terminating 
in  a  point  bending  a  little  back,  like  the  Phrygian 
caps,  or  a  Chinese  monument.  The  sepulchre  of 
Jehoshaphat  is  a  grot,  the  door  of  which,  in  a  very 
good  style,  is  its  principal  ornament.  Over  this  are 
sepulchres  of  the  Jews.  The  cave  of  St.  James  has  a 
handsome  portico  of  four  columns,  which  do  not  rest 
upon  the  ground,  but  are  placed  at  a  certain  height  in 
the  rock,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  colonnade  of  the 
Louvre  rises  from  the  first  story  of  the  palace. 

It  has  never  been  determined  when  or  by  what 
people  these  sepulchres  were  hewn.  They  are  de- 
scribed by  Dr.  Clarke  as  a  continuation  of  one  vast 
cemetery,  extending  along  the  base  of  the  mountainous 
elevations  which  surround  Jerusalem  on  its  southern 
and  eastern  sides  ;  and  which,  independently  of  every 
other  consideration,  would  indicate  the  former  ex- 
istence of  a  numerous,  flourishing,  and  powerful 
people.  To  relate  the  legends  of  the  monks  respecting 
them,  would,  he  remarks,  be  worse  than  silence.  Even 
Chateaubriand  admits  that  their  architecture  contra- 
dicts the  tradition,  and  proves  that  they  cannot  date 
so  far  back  as  the  earliest  period  of  Jewish  antiquity. 
" If  I  were  required,"  he  says,  "to  fix  precisely  the 
age  in  which  these  mausoleums  were  erected,  I  should 
place  it  about  the  time  of  the  alliance  between  the 
Jews  and  the  Lacedemonians,  under  the  first  Macca- 
bees. The  Doric  order  was  still  prevalent  in  Greece ; 
the  Corinthian  did  not  supplant  it  till  half  a  century 
later,  when  the  Romans  began  to  overrun  Pelopon- 
nesus and  Asia.  In  naturalising  at  Jerusalem  the 
architecture  of  Corinth  and  Athens,"  he  adds,  "  the 
Jews  intermixed  it  with  the  forms  of  their  peculiar 
style.  The  tombs  in  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  and 
the  sepulchres  of  the  kings  (north  of  the  city),  display 


THE    HOLY    LAND.  159 

a  manifest  alliance  of  the  Egyptian  and  Grecian  taste ; 
from  this  alliance  resiilted  a  heterogeneous  kind  of 
monuments,  forming,  as  it  were,  the  link  between  the 
Pyramids  and  the  Parthenon."  *  Dr.  Clarke,  who 
cites  these  observations  with  high  approbation  of  their 
judiciousness  and  accuracy,  remarks  that  the  columns 
are  of  that  ancient  style  and  character  which  yet 
appear  among  the  works  left  by  Ionian  and  Dorian 
colonies  in  the  remains  of  their  Asiatic  cities,  parti- 
cularly  at  Telmessus. 

Crossing  the  brook  Kedron,  the  traveller  next  ar- 
rives at  a  fountain  on  the  right,  thought  by  some  (says 
Pococke)  to  be  the  Dragon-well,  mentioned  by  Nehe- 
miali  (c.  ii.  13),  but  commonly  called  the  fountain  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin,  where,  the  monks  say,  she  washed 
our  Saviour's  linen !  There  is  a  descent  down  to  it  of 
many  steps,  and  a  channel  is  cut  from  it  under  the 
rock,  which  might  convey  the  water  to  the  city.  "  It 
may  be  considered,"  he  adds,  "  whether  this  was  not 
really  the  ancient  fountain  of  Siloah,  which  was  so  far 
under  the  hill,  that  it  could  not  be  commanded  in 
time  of  war  by  such  as  were  not  masters  of  that  part 
of  the  city.  This  fountain  seems  to  have  flowed  into 
a  basin  called  the  pool  of  Siloam,  and  probably  is  the 
same  as  the  lower  pool."  At  this  point  the  valley  ex- 
tending towards  the  west,  is  much  wider  than  in  the 
other  parts. 

Adhering  to  Pococke  as  our  guide,  a  little  beyond 
this  fountain,  the  shallow  vale  between  Mount  Sion 
and  Moriah  begins,  called  the  Valley  of  Millo  ;  which 
is  much  higher  thai,  that  through  which  the  Kedron 
runs.  There  is  a  gentle  ascent  by  it  up  to  the  city 
walls ;  and  going  into  this  ravine  about  a  hundred 

*  Chateaubriand,  vol.  ii.  pj>.  101,  102. 


160  PALESTINE;  OR, 

paces,  you  come  to  the  pool  of  Siloam.  "  The  entrance 
of  it  is  towards  the  city ;  and  there  is  a  descent  by 
several  steps  to  a  pool  about  twenty  feet  -wide,  fifty- 
five  feet  long,  and  ten  feet  deep  from  the  stairs,  having 
a  bench  on  each  side  of  it,  and  eight  pillars.  The  water 
runs  into  it  from  a  channel  cut  under  the  rock,  and 
they  say  comes  from  the  Temple  and  other  parts 
where  they  wash,  and  therefore  is  not  fit  to  be  drunk. 
Possibly  this  might  be  the  pool  of  Bethesda,  which  may 
be  the  same  as  that  which  Nehemiah  says  was  the 
pool  that  was  made,  and  Josephus  calls  the  pool  of 
Solomon."  Maundrell,  referring  apparently  to  the 
same  spot,  says :  "  When  we  were  there,  a  tanner 
made  no  scruple  to  dress  his  hides  in  it." 

It  seems  difficult  to  recognize  in  this  description, 

Siloa's  brook  that  flowed 
Fast  by  the  oracle  of  God. 

Chateaubriand  speaks  of  the  fountain  and  pool  of 
Siloam  as  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Zion,  and  says :  "  The 
spring  issues  from  a  rock,  and  runs  in  a  silent  stream, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  Jeremiah,  which  is  con- 
tradicted by  a  passage  in  St.  Jerome."  The  French 
author  does  not  say  which  testimony  he  considers  the 
most  to  be  relied  on.  He  adds  :  "  It  has  a  kind  of 
ebb  and  flood,  sometimes  discharging  its  current  like 
the  fountain  of  Vaucluse,  at  others  retaining  and 
scarcely  suffering  it  to  run  at  all.  The  water  of  the 
spring  is  brackish,  and  has  a  very  disagreeable  taste." 
Dr.  Richardson's  description  is  more  distinct,  but  still 
less  consistent  with  Pococke's.  After  noticing  "  tho 
well  of  Nehemiah,"  *  which  is  described  as  an  ordi- 
nary-sized deep  well,  provided  with  tolerably  good 
water,  at  the  south-east  corner  of  Mount  Zion,  at 

•  Pococke  found  it,  by  a  plummet,  to  be  122  feet  deep,  and  the 
water  was  88  feet  high ;  they  told  him  that  sometimes  it  overflowed. 


THE    HOLY    LAND.  161 

the  entrance  of  the  valley  of  Santa  Saba  (or  Jehosha- 
phat) — he  represents  the  pool  of  Siloam  as  occurring 
higher  up  the  valley,  towards  the  north,  a  little 
beyond  the  village  of  Siloa,  and  nearly  opposite  the 
tombs  of  Jehoshaphat  and  Zachariah.  "  This  pool," 
he  says,  "  receives  a  strong  current  of  water  by  a 
subterraneous  passage  cut  in  the  north  side  of  Mount 
Zion,  and  which  seems  as  if  it  came  by  a  conduit  cut 
through  the  rock  from  the  pool  of  Hezekiah,  on  the 
west  side  of  the  city.  This  pool  is  also  called  the 
fountain  of  the  stairs.  A  flight  of  sixteen  steps  leads 
down  to  a  platform,  and  another  flight  of  thirteen 
steps  leads  down  to  the  water,  which  is  fresh  and  good. 
The  passage  by  which  the  water  comes  out,  has 
obviously  been  formed  by  art,  and  is  so  large  that  a 
person,  by  stooping  a  little,  may  walk  along  it  under 
the  mountain.  The  water  is  about  three  feet  deep, 
and  seems  to  be  stagnant  in  the  pool ;  but  there  is  a 
considerable  stream  constantly  flowing  from  it,  by 
a  passage  which  is  also  cut  in  the  rock  for  a  good 
way  down,  and  goes  to  water  the  gardens  on  the 
lower  slopes  of  Mount  Zion.  There  are  the  remains 
of  a  Christian  church  that  once  adorned  the  entrance 
to  this  pool,  which,  like  the  fountain  of  Castalia  or 
the  spring  of  Arethusa,  seems  in  days  of  yore  to  have 
been  treated  with  signal  respect."  The  spring,  how- 
ever, rises  within  the  city,  at  no  great  distance  from 
the  Latin  convent.* 

On  comparing  these  varying  accounts  with  Dr. 
Richardson's  ichnographical  plan  of  Jerusalem,  it 
should  seem  that  what  Pococke  has  taken  for  the 
Virgin's  well,  yet  conjectures  to  be  the  ancient  foun- 
tain of  Siloa,  is  the  same  as  Dr.  Richardson  and 

•  Travels,  vol.  ii.  pp.  ?57,  3.^8. 


162  PALESTINE  ;    OR, 

Chateaubriand  correctly  describe  under  the  latter 
appellation ;  while  Pococke's  pool  of  Siloam,  which 
he  is  disposed  to  identify  with  the  ancient  pool  of 
Bethesda,  is  the  same  as  Dr.  R.  calls,  in  his  plan,  the 
King's  pool,  though  he  has  not  described  it  in  the 
text.  Concerning  the  Virgin's  claim  to  either  foun- 
tain he  is  silent.  Maundrell  agrees  with  Richardson 
as  to  the  situation  of  the  supposed  well  of  Nehemiah  ; 
"  so  called  because  reputed  to  be  the  same  place  from 
which  that  restorer  of  Israel  recovered  the  fire  of 
the  altar,  after  the  Babylonish  captivity,  (2  Mace, 
i.  19)."  He  places  it  at  the  entrance  of  the  valley  of 
Jehoshaphat,  near  the  (white  mulberry)  tree  supposed 
to  mark  the  place  where  Isaiah  was  sawn  asunder 
by  order  of  Manasseh  —  another  senseless  legend. 
The  pool  of  Siloam  (Dr.  Richardson's  King's  pool) 
he  places  a  hundred  paces  higher  (northward),  on  the 
same  side ;  and  the  fountain  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
(the  real  pool  of  Siloam)  about  a  furlong  further. 
Pococke  has  probably  been  misled  by  this  in  general 
accurate  traveller.*  Over  against  this  latter  fountain, 
on  the  other  side  of  the  valley,  is  the  small  and  com- 
fortless village  now  called  Siloa ;  consisting,  according 
to  Richardson,  of  small  huts,  partly  built  and  partly 
dug  in  the  rock ;  but,  according  to  Pococke,  who  was 
shewn  every  thing  in  this  part  by  the  sheikh  of  Siloa, 
of  a  great  number  of  grottoes,  some  of  which  have 
porticoes,  and  are  adorned  with  the  plain  Egyptian 

«  Chateaubriand  places  the  fountain  of  Siloa  at  the  foot  of 
Mount  Zion.  He  says  :  "  The  pool,  or  rathe)-  the  two  pools 
of  the  same  name,  are  quite  close  to  the  spring ;  they  are  still 
used  for  washing  linen  as  formerly."  At  the  foot  of  the  village 
Siloa,  he  places  "  the  fountain  Rogel,"  and  opposite  to  this, 
"a  third  which  receives  its  name  from  the  Blessed  Virgin." 
This  fountain,  he  says,  mingles  its  stream  with  the  fountain  of 
Siloah. 


THE    HOLY    LAND.  163 

cornice  :  "  they  call  it  a  village,"  he  says,  "  because 
these  grots  are  now  inhabited  by  Arabs,  but  they 
seem  to  be  ancient  sepulchres." 

Southward  of  this  village,  and  nearly  facing  the 
valley  or  ravine  which  runs  to  the  south  of  Mouut 
Zioii,  there  rises  from  the  bed  of  the  Siloa,  a  moun- 
tain which  appears  to  have  been  neither  named  nor 
examined  by  any  of  our  travellers.  Proceeding  along 
the  ravine,  the  traveller  has  on  his  left  hand  the 
elevation  which  the  old  travellers  denominate  the 
Hill  of  Evil  Counsel,  and  which  Dr.  Clarke,  with  more 
ingenuity  than  accuracy,  attempts  to  identify  with  the 
Zion  of  Scripture.  It  is  described  by  Dr.  Richardson 
as  a  low  rocky  flat,  the  termination  of  the  high  ground 
which  lies  to  the  south-west  of  Jerusalem,  and  con- 
sequently not  a  separate  hill,  as  Zion  was :  it  is, 
moreover,  of  inferior  elevation  to  Mount  Zion,  which 
would  of  itself  negative  Dr.  Clarke's  hypothesis,  and 
could  with  ease  have  been  approached  from  the  west. 
It  never  would  have  been  chosen,  therefore,  as  the 
site  of  a  citadel.  Whereas  Mount  Zion  has  a  ravine 
on  three  of  its  sides,  while  the  Tyropaeon  running  in 
a  transverse  direction,  separated  it  from  the  hill  sus- 
taining the  lower  city. 

On  this  high  ground,  Sandys  noticed  the  relics  of 
no  mean  buildings.  Dr.  Richardson  says,  it  contains 
the  remains  of  a  ruined  village,  which  is  generally 
called  the  Casa  di  Mai  Consiglio,  or  Hill  of  Evil 
Counsel ;  because  here,  it  is  said,  the  Pharisees  took 
counsel  against  Jesus  to  put  him  to  death.  No  tra- 
veller appears  to  ha"e  explored  it.  About  half-way 
down  the  ravine,  which  has  been  generally  mistaken 
for  the  valley  of  Hinnom,  on  the  side  of  the  mountain, 
is  what  is  called  Aceldama,  Campo  Santo,  and  the 
Potter's  Field.  «'  In  the  midst  hereof,"  says  Sandys, 


164  PALESTINE;  OR, 

"  a  large  square  room  was  made  by  the  mother  of 
Constantino,  the  south  side  walled  with  the  natural 
rock,  flat  at  the  top,  and  equal  with  the  upper  level, 
out  of  which  arise  certain  b'ttle  cupolas,  open  in  the 
midst  to  let  down  the  dead  bodies.  Through  these 
we  might  see  the  bottom  all  covered  with  bones,  and 
certain  corses  but  newly  let  down,  it  being  now  the 
sepulchre  of  the  Armenians.  A  greedy  grave,  and 
great  enough  to  devour  the  dead  of  a  whole  nation. 
For  they  say,  and  1  believe  it,  that  the  earth  thereof, 
within  the  space  of  eight  and  forty  hours,  will  con- 
sume the  flesh  that  is  laid  thereon."  Pococke  men- 
tions the  same  supposed  sarcophagous  virtue  in  the 
earth.  He  describes  it  as  an  oblong  cavern,  about 
twenty-six  paces  long,  by  twenty  broad,  and  seem- 
ingly about  twenty  deep.  The  dead  are  stripped  and 
thrown  in  naked  in  heaps,  as  at  Naples,  Palermo,  and 
other  places.  Through  the  orifices,  both  Maundrell 
and  Dr.  Richardson  say,  the  bodies  are  to  be  seen  in 
all  the  stages  of  decomposition.  "  From  which," 
shrewdly  remarks  the  former,  "  it  may  be  conjectured 
that  this  grave  does  not  make  that  quick  despatch 
with  the  corpses  committed  to  it,  which  is  commonly 
reported." 

Beyond  this,  the  sepulchres  begin,  which  extend 
along  the  side  of  the  ravine  to  the  south-west  and 
west  of  Mount  Zion,  and  which,  like  those  in  the 
valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  are  grottoes  or  excavations  in 
the  rock.  Of  these,  Dr.  Clarke  has  given  the  fullest 
description.  He  recognised  them  as  similar  to  those 
which  he  had  seen  in  the  ruins  of  Telmessus  in  the 
gulf  of  Glaucus,  and  as  answering  to  Shaw's  account 
of  the  cryptce  of  Laodicea,  Jebilee,  and  Tortosa.  They 
are  described  as  a  series  of  subterranean  chambers, 
"  hewn  with  marvellous  art,  each  containing  one  or 


THE    HOLY    LAND.  165 

many  repositories  for  the  dead,  like  cisterns  carved 
in  the  rock,  upon  the  sides  of  these  chambers." 
The  doors  are  so  low,  that,  to  look  into  any  one  of 
them,  it  is  necessary  to  stoop,  and,  in  some  instances, 
to  creep  on  hands  and  knees.  These  doorways  are 
grooved  for  the  reception  of  immense  stones,  squared 
and  fitted  to  the  grooves,  which  once  closed  the 
entrance.  "  Of  such  a  nature,  indisputably,"  adds 
the  learned  traveller,  "  were  the  tombs  of  the  sons 
of  Heth,  of  the  kings  of  Israel,  of  Lazarus,  and  of 
Christ."  Upon  all  these  sepulchres  there  are  inscrip- 
tions in  Hebrew  and  in  Greek.  The  Hebrew,  which 
are  by  the  side  of  the  doors,  are  so  effaced,  that  it 
is  difficult  to  make  any  tolerable  copy ;  they  appear 
to  hare  been  designedly  obliterated  by  being  covered 
with  some  chalky  substance.*  The  Greek  inscriptions 
are  more  legible :  they  consist  of  large  letters  deeply 
carved  on  the  face  of  the  rock,  but  only  contain  the 
words,  "  Of  the  holy  Zion."  Dr.  Richardson  con- 
siders them  to  be  of  modern  date  and  apocryphal 
authority ;  but  agrees  with  Dr.  Clarke  that  these  are, 
in  all  probability,  the  sepulchres  of  the  city  of  David, 
referred  to  Nehem.  iii.  16.  It  is  remarkable,  that 
there  are  no  tombs  in  the  side  of  the  ravine  on  which 
the  city  stands  :  these  were  clearly  out  of  the  city, 
and  here  it  would  have  been  more  rational  to  fix 
upon  a  site  for  the  holy  sepulchre.  But  "  neither  the 
Apostles  nor  the  early  Christians  appear  to  have  had 
any  regard  whatever  for  the  sepulchre  of  our  Lord. 
It  is  not  once  mentioned  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
or  in  any  of  the  Ep'stles.  The  Apostle  Paul,  in  all 

•  One  which  Dr.  Clarke  copied,  exhibited  a  mixture  of  Hebrew 
and  the  arrow-headed  character,  and  is  supposed  to  be  Arabic,  as 
the  mode  of  writing  corresponds  to  that  used  I  y  Arabian  Jews  in 
their  inscriptions  on  the  hills  near  Jerusalem. 


166  I-ALESTINE;  OR, 

his  visits  to  the  Holy  City,  in  all  his  meetings  with  the 
Christians,  never  once  names  Calvary,  or  the  sepulchre 
of  Christ.  The  minds  of  these  holy  men  seem  to 
have  been  solely  intent  on  the  spread  of  the  Gospel. 
In  all  their  forcible  appeals  to  the  hearts  and  under- 
standings of  their  hearers,  the  birth,  death,  and  resur- 
rection of  Christ,  are  constantly  mentioned,  but  the 
places  where  these  glorious  events  occurred,  are  never 
referred  to.  Having  satisfied  themselves  that  the  body 
of  the  Messiah  did  not  remain  in  the  tomb  after  the 
third  day,  they  ceased  to  frequent  it,  or  to  seek  the 
living  among  the  dead."  * 

The  only  other  object  of  interest  in  the  ravine  on 
the  west  of  the  city,  besides  these  sepulchres,  is  the 
large  square  cistern,  mentioned  by  Dr.  Richardson  as 
a  little  to  the  south  of  the  Jaffa  gate ;  evidently 
of  Jewish  workmanship.  Pococke  describes  it  as  a 
basin  about  250  paces  long  and  100  broad.  "  The 
bottom  is  very  narrow,  and  the  rock  on  each  side 
appears  like  steps.  This  basin  is  made  by  building 
a  wall  across  the  valley.  It  is  commonly  called  the 
pool  of  Bathsheba,f  but  seems  to  be  the  lower  pool 
of  Gihon.  It  is  generally  dry,  but  probably  was 
designed  to  receive  not  only  the  rain  waters,  but  also 
the  superfluous  waters  from  the  upper  pool  of  Gihon. 
(See  2  Chron.  xxxii.  30.)  At  the  north  end  of  it  is 
a  causeway,  which  leads  to  the  road  to  Bethlehem. 
There  is  a  channel  on  it  from  Solomon's  aqueduct, 
which  supplies  a  cistern  on  each  side  of  the  causeway, 
and  one  at  the  end  of  it,  where  there  is  plenty  of 
water.  Above  this,  the  valley  is  not  so  deep,  but 
capable  of  receiving  a  great  quantity  of  water.  About 

*  Richardson's  Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  338. 

t  There  is  another  'pool  of  Bathsheba'  within  the  city,  near 
the  Jaffa  gate- 


THE    HOLY    LAND.  167 

100  paces  to  the  north,  the  aqueduct  from  Solomon's 
pool  crosses  the  vale,  the  water  running  part  of  the 
way  on  nine  arches,  from  four  to  six  feet  high  :  it  ia 
then  conveyed  round  the  hill  on  the  west  side  of 
Mount  Zion,  and  so  round  to  the  city  and  temple  by 
a  covered  channel  under  ground.  Nearly  a  mile  to 
the  N.N.W.  is  the  pool  of  Gihon,  which  I  suppose  to 
be  the  upper  pool.  It  is  a  very  large  basin,  and,  if 
I  mistake  not,  is  cut  down  about  ten  feet  into  the 
rock,  there  being  a  way  down  to  it  by  steps.  It  was 
almost  dry  at  that  time,  and  seems  designed  to  receive 
the  rain  waters  which  come  from  the  hills  about  it» 
There  is  a  canal  from  the  pool  to  the  city,  which  is 
uncovered  part  of  the  way,  and,  it  is  said,  goes  to  tlie 
pool  in  the  streets  near  the  holy  sepulchre ;  and  when 
there  is  a  great  plenty  of  water,  it  runs  to  the  pool 
already  mentioned,  to  the  west  of  the  city.  For  the 
design  of  these  pools  seems  to  have  been  to  receive 
the  rain  water  for  the  common  uses  of  the  city,  and 
even  to  drink  in  case  of  necessity.  The  fountain  of 
Gihon  probably  arose  either  in  the  upper  pool,  or  out 
of  the  high  ground  above  it."  * 

The  situation  of  Jerusalem,  then,  appears  to  have 
been  by  no  means  disadvantageous  in  respect  to  the 
supply  of  water.  There  were  probably  wells,  besides 
that  of  Nehemiah,  both  within  and  without  the  city, 
which  are  now  filled  up  or  dry ;  and,  besides  these, 
the  pools  and  aqueducts,  together  with  the  little 
stream  of  Kedron,  must  have  been  amply  sufficient, 
not  only  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  population;  but 
to  serve  the  purpose  of  irrigation,  on  which,  in  this 
climate,  the  fertility  of  the  soil  depends.  It  is  very 
probable,  that  the  subterraneous  passage  which  has 

*  Travels,  book  i.  chap.  fi. 


log  PALESTINE;  OR, 

its  outlet  in  the  pool  of  Siloam,  and  which  Dr. 
Richardson  describes  as  a  conduit  cut  in  the  rock 
from  the  pool  of  Hezekiah  above  described,  on  the 
west  side  of  the  city,  was  formerly  partly  open, 
running  in  the  line  of  the  Tyropaeon,  or  valley  of 
Cheesemongers,  described  by  Josephus  as  separating 
the  upper  from  the  lower  city,  and  terminating  at 
the  pool  of  Siloam. 

MOUNT  OLIVET. 

HAVING  now  completed  the  circuit  of  the  city,  we 
have  yet  to  ascend  Mount  Olivet ;  that  consecrated 
hill  from  which  the  Redeemer  of  the  world  looked 
down  on  the  guilty  city, — on  the  scene  of  his  passion 
and  crucifixion,  —  and  predicted  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem  ;  that  hill,  from  the  summit  of  which  he 
afterwards  ascended,  in  the  sight  of  his  disciples,  "far 
above  all  heavens." 

The  Mount  of  Olives  forms  part  of  a  ridge  of  lime- 
stone hills,  extending  to  the  north  and  the  south-w.est. 
Pococke  describes  it  as  having  four  summits.  On  the 
lowest  and  most  northerly  of  these,  which,  he  tells  us, 
is  called  Sulman  Tashy,  the  stone  of  Solomon,  there  is 
a  large  domed  sepulchre,  and  several  other  Moham- 
medan tombs.  The  ascent  to  this  point,  which  is 
to  the  north-east  of  the  city,  he  describes  as  very 
gradual,  through  pleasant  corn-fields  planted  with 
olive-trees.  The  second  summit  is  that  which  over- 
looks the  city  :  the  path  to  it  rises  from  the  ruined 
gardens  of  Gethsemane,  which  occupy  part  of  the 
valley.  About  half-way  up  the  ascent  is  a  ruined 
monastery,  built,  as  the  monks  tell  us,  on  the  spot 
where  our  Saviour  wept  over  Jerusalem.  From  this 
point,  the  spectator  enjoys,  perhaps,  the  best  view  of 


THE    HOLY    LAND.  169 

the  Holy  City.  On  reaching  the  summit,  an  ex- 
tensive view  is  obtained  towards  the  east,  embracing 
the  fertile  plain  of  Jericho,  watered  by  the  Jordan, 
and  the  Dead  Sea,  enclosed  by  mountains  of  con- 
siderable grandeur.  Here  there  is  a  small  village, 
surrounded  by  some  tolerable  corn-land.*  This  sum- 
mit is  not  relatively  high,  and  would  more  properly  be 
termed  a  hill,  than  a  mountain :  it  is  not  above  two 
miles  distant  from  Jerusalem.  At  a  short  distance 
from  the  summit  is  shewn  the  supposed  print  of  bur 
Saviour's  left  foot — Chateaubriand  says  the  mark  of 
the  right  was  once  visible,  and  Bernard  de  Breiden- 
bach  saw  it  in  1 483 — this  is  the  spot  fixed  upon  by 
the  mother  of  Constantine,  as  that  from  which  our 
Lord  ascended,  and  over  which  she  accordingly  erected 
a  church  and  monastery,  the  ruins  of  which  still  re- 
main. Pococke  describes  .the  building  which  was 
standing  in  his  time,  as  a  small  Gothic  chapel,  round 
within,  and  octagon  without,  and  tells  us  that  it  was 
converted  into  a  mosque.  The  Turks,  for  a  stipu- 
lated sum,  permit  the  Christian  pilgrims  to  take  an 
impression  of  the  foot-print  in  wax  or  plaster,  to 
carry  home.  "  Twice,"  says  Dr.  Richardson,  "  I 
visited  this  memorable  spot,  and  each  time  it  was 
crowded  with  devout  pilgrims,  taking  casts  of  the 
holy  vestige.  They  had  to  purchase  permission  of  the 
Turks  ;  but,  had  it  not  been  in  the  possession  of  the 
Turks,  they  would  have  had  to  purchase  it  from  the 
more  mercenary  and  not  less  merciless  Romans  or 
Greeks."  On  Ascension  eve,  the  Christians  come  and 
encamp  in  the  coui\,  and  that  night  they  "  perform 

*  This  seems  to  be  the  village  which  Pococke  supposes  to  be  the 
site  of  Bethphage  :  he  describes  it  as  about  half  a  mile  from  '  the 
summit  of  the  Ascension,'  before  you  come  to  Bethany  by  that  road. 
PART  I.  L 


170  PALESTINE  ;    OB, 

the  offices  of  the  Ascension."  Here,  however,  as  with 
regard  to  Calvary  and  almost  all  the  supposed  sacred 
places,  superstition  has  blindly  followed  the  blind. 
That  this  is  not  the  place  of  the  Ascension,  is  certain 
from  the  words  of  St.  Luke,  who  says  that  our  Lord 
led  out  his  disciples  "  as  far  as  Bethany,  and  lifted  up 
his  hands,  and  blessed  them.  And  it  came  to  pass, 
while  he  blessed  them,  he  was  parted  from  them,  and 
carried  up  to  heaven."  Acts  i. 

Bethany  is  a  small  village  to  the  east  of  the  Mount 
of  Olives,  on  the  road  to  Jericho,  not  further  from 
Jerusalem  than  the  pinnacle  of  the  hill.  There  are 
two  roads  to  it ;  one  passes  over  the  M ount  of  Olives  j 
the  other,  which  is  the  shorter  and  easier,  winds 
round  the  eastern  end,  having  the  greater  part  of  the 
hill  on  the  north  or  left  hand,  and  on  the  right  the 
elevation  called  by  some  writers  the  Mount  of  Offence, 
which  is,  however,  very  little  above  the  level  of  the 
valley  of  Jehoshaphat.  The  village  of  Bethany  is 
small  and  poor,  and  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  is  much 
neglected ;  but  it  is  a  pleasant  and  somewhat  romantic 
spot,  sheltered  by  Mount  Olivet  on  the  north,  and 
abounding  with  trees  and  long  grass.  The  inhabitants 
are  Arabs.  Here  they  shew  the  ruins  of  a  sort  of 
castle  as  the  house  of  Lazarus,  and  a  grotto  as  his 
tomb,  which,  of  course,  is  much  frequented  by  pil- 
grims. On  the  eminence  above  is  a  small  Turkish 
mosque.  The  house  of  Simon  the  leper,  of  Mary 
Magdalene,  and  of  Martha,  who,  it  seems,  did  not 
reside  with  her  brother,  and  the  identical  fig-tree 
which  our  Lord  cursed,  are  among  the  monkish 
curiosities  of  the  place. 

The  third  summit  of  the  hill  is  further  towards 
the  south.  Here  Pococke  noticed  two  heaps  of  ruins, 


THE    HOLY    LAND.  171 

one  of  which,  the  Arabs  told  him,  had  been  a  convent 
of  Armenians.  The  fourth  summit,  still  further 
south,  had  also  an  Armenian  convent :  it  was  called, 
he  says,  by  the  Arabs,  Gorek-Nertebet. 

Dr.  Clarke  has  described  some  subterranean  cham- 
bers on  the  highest  summit  of  Mount  Olivet,  which 
are  not  noticed  by  any  preceding  traveller.  One  of 
them,  he  says,  has  the  shape  of  a  cone  of  immense 
size,  the  vertex  alone  appearing  level  with  the  soil, 
and  exhibiting  a  small  circular  aperture  like  the 
mouth  of  a  well ;  the  sides  extending  below  to  a  great 
depth.  These  were  lined  with  a  hard,  red  stucco, 
like  the  substance  covering  the  walls  of  the  subterra- 
nean galleries  in  the  Isle  of  Aboukir.  Dr.  Clarke  calls 
this  place  a  crypt  and  a  subterranean  pyramid,  and 
supposes  it  may  have  been  appropriated  to  the  idola- 
trous worship  of  Ashtaroth  at  an  early  period  of  the 
Jewish  history,  and  subsequently  made  a  receptacle 
for  the  bones  of  men. 

The  olive  is  still  found  growing  in  patches  at  the 
foot  of  the  mount  to  which  it  gives  its  name ;  and 
"  as  a  spontaneous  produce,  uninterruptedly  resulting 
from  the  original  growth  of  this  part  of  the  mountain, 
it  is  impossible,"  says  Dr.  Clarke,  "  to  view  even 
these  trees  with  indifference."  Titus  cut  down  all 
the  wood  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Jerusalem  ;  but 
there  would  seem  to  have  been  constantly  springing 
up  a  succession  of  these  hardy  trees.  "  It  is  truly 
a  curious  and  interesting  fact,"  adds  the  learned 
traveller,  "  that,  during  a  period  of  little  more  than 
two  thousand  years,  Hebrews,  Assyrians,  Romans, 
Moslems,  and  Christians,  have  been  successively  in 
possession  of  the  rocky  mountains  of  Palestine ;  yet, 
the  olive  still  vindicates  its  paternal  soil,  and  is  found, 
at  this  day,  upon  the  same  spot  which  was  called  by 


172  PALESTINE;  OR, 

the  Hebrew  writers  Mount  Olivet  and  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  eleven  centuries  before  the  Christian  era."  * 

The  valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  which  lies  between  this 
mountain  and  the  hills  on  which  Jerusalem  is  built, 
is  still  used  as  a  burial-place  by  the  modern  Jews,  as 
it  was  by  their  ancestors.  It  is,  generally  speaking, 
a  rocky  flat,  with  a  few  patches  of  earth  here  and 
there,  about  half  a  mile  in  breadth  from  the  Kedron 
to  the  foot  of  Mount  Olivet,  and  nearly  of  the  same 
length  from  Siloa  to  the  garden  of  Gethiemane.  It 
is  filled  with  tombs  every  where  dug  in  the  rock,  some 
of  them  large,  indicating  the  superior  condition  of 
their  ancient  possessors,  but  the  greater  part  are  small 
and  of  the  ordinary  size.  Many  of  the  stones  are 
covered  with  Hebrew  inscriptions ;  and,  to  the  learned 
in  Rabbinical  lore,  this  ancient  grave-yard  would  fur- 
nish an  interesting  field  for  investigation.  The  Jews 
have  a  tradition,  evidently  founded  on  taking  literally 
the  passage  Joel  iii.  12,  that  this  narrow  valley  will 
be  the  scene  of  the  Final  Judgment.  The  prophet 
Jeremiah  evidently  refers  to  the  same  valley  under  the 
name  of  the  valley  of  the  Son  of  Hinnom,  or  the  valley 
of  Tophet,  the  situation  being  clearly  marked  as  being 
by  the  entry  of  the  east  gate.t 

BETHLEHEM. 

FROM  the  scene  of  our  Lord's  crucifixion  and 
ascension,  the  pilgrim  proceeds  to  visit  the  place  of 
his  nativity.  There  are  two  roads  from  Jerusalem  to 

«  2  Sam.  xv.  30.    Zech.  xiv.  4. 

t  Jer.  xix.  2,  6.  Pococke  places  the  valley  of  Hinnom  to  the 
south  of  Jerusalem,  but  thinks  it  might  include  part  of  that  to  the 
east.  It  formed  part  of  the  bound;  between  the  tribes  of  Benja- 
min and  Judah  (Jos.  xv.  8.  xviii.  16.)  but  the  description  is  some- 
what obscure. 


THE    HOLY    LAND.  173 

Bethlehem.  That  which  is  used  at  present  is  the 
shortest ;  the  old  road  is  more  to  the  west.  Passing 
out  of  the  Jaffa  gate,  the  traveller  turns  to  the  left, 
and,  descending  the  sloping  bank  into  the  ravine, 
leaves  on  his  right  the  pool  of  Hezekiah;  he  then 
ascends  the  rocky  flat  on  the  other  side,  and  proceeds, 
in  a  south-west  direction,  over  rocky  and  barren 
ground,  exhibiting,  in  a  few  cultivated  patches,  some 
scanty  crops  of  grain,  and,  in  other  parts,  a  covering 
of  grass  and  wild  flowers.  The  first  part  of  the  road 
possesses  little  interest.  The  ruined  tower  of  Simeon, 
the  Greek  monastery  of  Elias,  and  the  tomb  of  Rachel, 
are  pointed  out  by  the  guides :  the  last  is  a  Turkish 
oratory  with  a  rounded  top,  like  the  whitened  sepul- 
chre of  an  Arab  sheikh,  and  the  Turks  are  said  to 
have  a  superstitious  regard  for  the  spot  as  a  burial- 
place.  Dr.  Clarke  describes  the  first  view  of  Bethle- 
hem as  imposing.  The  town  appears  covering  the 
ridge  of  a  hill  on  the  southern  side  of  a  deep  and 
extensive  valley,  and  reaching  from  east  to  west.  The 
most  conspicuous  object  is  the  monastery  erected  over 
the  supposed  "  Cave  of  the  Nativity ;"  its  walls  and 
battlements  have  the  air  of  a  large  fortress.  From 
this  same  point,  the  Dead  Sea  is  seen  below  on  the 
left,  seemingly  very  near,  "  but,"  says  Sandys,  "  not 
so  found  by  the  traveller ;  for  these  high,  declining 
mountains  are  not  to  be  directly  descended."  The 
road  winds  round  the  top  of  a  valley  which  tradition 
has  fixed  on  as  the  scene  of  the  angelic  vision  which 
announced  the  birth  of  our  Lord  to  the  shepherds ; 
but  differents  spots  have  been  selected,  the  Romish, 
authorities  not  being  agreed  on  this  head. 

Bethlehem,  the  ancient  Ephrath,  or  Ephrata,  (called 
in  the  New  Testament  Bethlehem  Ephrata  and  Bethle- 
hem of  Jtidea,  to  distinguish  it  from  Bethlehem  of 
L  2 


174  PALESTINE;   OR, 

Zabulou,)  is  situated  on  a  rising  ground,  about  two 
hours'  distance,  or  not  quite  six  miles  from  Jerusalem. 
Here  the  traveller  meets  with  a  repetition  of  the  same 
puerilities  and  disgusting  mummery  which  he  has 
witnessed  at  the  church  of  the  sepulchre.  "  The 
stable^  to  use  the  words  of  Pococke,  "  in  which  our 
Lord  was  born,  is  a  grotto  cut  out  of  the  rock,  ac- 
cording to  the  eastern  custom."  It  is  astonishing 
to  find  so  intelligent  a  writer  as  Dr.  Clarke,  gravely 
citing  St.  Jerome,  who  wrote  in  the  fifth  century, 
as  an  authority  for  the  truth  of  the  absurd  legend 
by  which  the  "  Cave  of  the  Nativity "  is  supposed 
to  be  identified.  The  ancient  tombs  and  excavations 
are  occasionally  used  by  the  Arabs  as  places  of  shelter ; 
but  the  Gospel  narrative  affords  no  countenance  to  the 
notion  that  the  Virgin  took  refuge  in  any  cave  of  this 
description.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  evidently  a 
manger  belonging  to  the  inn  or  khan  :  in  other  words, 
the  upper  rooms  being  wholly  occupied,  the  holy 
family  were  compelled  to  take  up  their  abode  in  the 
court  allotted  to  the  'mules  and  horses,  or  other  ani- 
mals. To  suppose  that  the  inn,  or  the  stable,  whether 
attached  to  the  inn  or  not,  was  a  grotto,  is  to  outrage 
common  sense.  But  the  New  Testament  was  not  the 
guide  which  was  followed  by  the  mother  of  Constan- 
tiiie,  to  whom  the  original  church  owed  its  foundation. 
The  present  edifice  is  represented  by  Chateaubriand  as 
of  undoubtedly  high  antiquity ;  yet  Doubdan,  an  old 
traveller,  says  that  the  monastery  was  destroyed  in  the 
year  1263  by  the  Moslems ;  and  in  its  present  state, 
at  all  events,  it  cannot  lay  claim  to  a  higher  date. 
The  convent  is  divided  among  the  Greek,  Roman,  and 
Armenian  Christians,  to  each  of  whom  separate  parts 
are  assigned  as  places  of  worship  and  habitations  for 
the  monks ;  but,  on  certain  days,  all  may  perform 


THE    HOLY     LAND.  175 

their  dev  >tions  at  the  altars  erected  over  the  conse- 
crated spots.  The  church  is  built  in  the  form  of  a 
cross ;  the  nave  being  adorned  with  forty-eight  Co- 
rinthian columns  in  four  MWS,  each  column  being  two 
feet  six  inches  in  diameter,  and  eighteen  feet  high, 
including  the  base  and  the  capital.  "As  the  roof  of 
the  nave  is  wanting,  the  columns  support  nothing 
but  a  frieze  of  wood,  which  occupies  the  place  of  the 
architrave  and  the  whole  entablature.  Open  timber- 
work  rests  on  the  walls,  and  rises  into  the  form  of  a 
dome  to  support  a  roof  that  no  longer  exists,  or  that 
perhaps  was  never  finished."  *  The  remains  of  some 
paintings  on  wood  and  in  mosaic,  are  here  and  there  to 
be  seen,  exhibiting  figures  "  in  full  face,  upright  and 
stiff,  but  having  a  majestic  effect."  The  nave,  which 
is  in  possession  of  the  Armenians,  is  separated  from 
the  three  other  branches  of  the  cross  by  a  wall,  so  that 
the  unity  of  the  edifice  is  destroyed.  The  top  of  the 
cross  is  occupied  by  the  choir,  which  belongs  to  the 
Greeks.  Here  is  "  an  altar  dedicated  to  the  Wise 
Men  of  the  East,"  at  the  foot  of  which  is  a  marble 
star,  corresponding,  as  the  monks  say,  to  the  point  of 
the  heavens  where  the  miraculous  meteor  became  sta- 
tionary, and  directly  over  the  spot  where  the  Saviour 
was  born  in  the  subterranean  church  below !  A  flight 
of  fifteen  steps,  and  a  long  narrow  passage,  conduct  to 
the  sacred  crypt  or  grotto  of  the  Nativity,  which  is 
thirty- seven  feet  six  inches  long,  by  eleven  feet  three 
inches  in  breadth,  and  nine  feet  high.  It  is  lined  and 
floored  with  marble,  and  provided  on  each  side  with 
five  oratories,  "  answering  precisely  to  the  ten  cribs 
or  stalls  for  horses  tliat  the  stable  in  which  our  Saviour 
was  born  contained."  The  precise  spot  of  the  birth  is 

•  Chateaubriand's  Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  393. 


176  PALESTINE;  OR, 

marked  by  a  glory  in  the  floor,  composed  of  marble 
and  jasper  enriched  with  silver,  around  which  are 
inscribed  the  words,  Hie  de  Virgine  Maria  Jesus 
Chrittut  naius  est.  Over  it  is  a  marble  table  or  altar, 
which  rests  against  the  side  of  the  rock,  here  cut  into 
an  arcade.  The  manger  is  at  the  distance  of  seven 
paces  from  the  altar ;  it  is  in  a  low  recess  hewn  out  of 
the  rock,  to  which  you  descend  by  two  steps,  and 
consists  of  a  block  of  marble,  raised  about  a  foot  and  a 
half  above  the  floor,  and  hollowed  out  in  the  form  of 
a  manger.  Before  it  is  the  altar  of  the  Magi.  The 
chapel  is  illuminated  by  thirty-two  lamps,  presented 
by  different  princes  of  Christendom.  Chateaubriand 
has  described  the  scene  in  his  usual  florid  and  ima- 
ginative style. 

"  Nothing  can  be  more  pleasing,  or  better  calcu- 
lated to  excite  devotional  sentiments,  than  this  sub- 
terraneous church.  It  is  adorned  with  pictures  of  the 
Italian  and  Spanish  schools,  which  represent  the 
mysteries  of  the  place.  The  usual  ornaments  of  the 
manger  are  of  blue  satin,  embroidered  with  silver. 
Incense  is  continually  burning  before  the  cradle  of  our 
Saviour.  I  have  heard  an  organ,  touched  by  no  ordi- 
nary hand,  play  during  mass,  the  sweetest  and  most 
tender  tunes  of  the  best  Italian  composers.  These 
concerts  charm  the  Christian  Arab,  who,  leaving  his 
camels  to  feed,  repairs,  like  the  shepherds  of  old,  to 
Bethlehem,  to  adore  the  King  of  kings  in  the  manger. 
I  have  seen  this  inhabitant  of  the  Desert  communicate 
at  the  altar  of  the  Magi,  with  a  fervour,  a  piety,  a 
devotion,  unknown  among  the  Christians  of  the  West. 
The  continual  arrival  of  caravans  from  all  the  nations 
of  Christendom  ;  the  public  prayers  ;  the  prostrations  ; 
nay,  even  the  richness  of  the  presents  sent  here  by 
the  Christian  princes,  altogether  produce  feelings  in 


THE    HOLY    LAND.  177 

the  soul,  which  it  is  much  easier  to  conceive  than  to 
describe."  * 

Such  are  the  illusions  which  the  Roman  super- 
stition casts  over  this  extraordinary  scene.  But  this 
is  not  the  whole  of  the  pious  show.  In  another  sub- 
terraneous chapel,  tradition  places  the  sepulchre  of 
"  the  Innocents."  From  this,  the  pilgrim  is  con- 
ducted to  the  grotto  of  St.  Jerome,  where  they  shew 
the  tomb  of  that  father,  (although  his  relics  were 
translated  to  Rome,)  that  of  Eusebius,  and  those  of 
Santa  Paula  and  her  son,  St.  Eustachius.f  This 
pious  Roman  lady  owes  the  high  distinction  of  having 
her  tomb  in  this  consecrated  place,  to  having  built  and 
endowed  several  monasteries  in  the  neighbourhood, 
all  of  which  are  now  in  ruins.  St.  Jerome  passed 
great  part  of  his  life  in  this  place ;  and  in  the  grotto 
shewn  as  his  oratory,  4s  said  to  have  translated  that 
version  of  the  Bible  which  has  been  adopted  by  the 
Church  of  Rome,  and  is  called  the  Vulgate.  He  died 
at  the  advanced  age  of  91,  A.D.  422. 

The  village  of  Bethlehem  contains  about  300  in- 
habitants, the  greater  part  of  whom  gain  their  liveli- 
hood by  making  beads,  carving  mother-of-pearl  shells 
with  sacred  subjects,  and  manufacturing  small  tables 
and  crucifixes,  all  which  are  eagerly  purchased  by  the 
pilgrims.  The  monks  of  Bethlehem  claim  also  the 
exclusive  privilege  of  marking  the  limbs  and  bodies  of 
the  devotees  with  crosses,  stars,  and  monograms,  by 
means  of  gunpowder ;  a  practice  borrowed  from  the 
customs  of  heathenism,  and  noticed  by  Virgil  and 
Pomponius  Mela.J  Pococke  says :  "  It  is  remarkable 

«  Travels  in  Greece,  Palestine,  &c.,  vol.  i.  p.  396. 
t  Chateaubriand  says,   "  St.  Paul  and    St.  Eustochium,  two 
illustrious  Roman  ladies."    The  latter  was  the  son. 
i  jEneid.  lib.  iv.  vcr.  146.    Pomp.  Mela.  lib.  xjd. 


178  PALESTINE;  OR, 

that  the  Christians  at  Jerusalem,  Bethlehem,  St. 
John's,  and  Nazareth,  are  worse  than  any  other 
Christians.  I  was  informed  that  the  women  of  Beth- 
lehem are  very  good ;  whereas  those  at  Jerusalem  are 
worse  than  the  men,  who  are  generally  better  there 
than  at  the  other  places.  This  may  be  occasioned  by 
the  great  converse  which  the  women  have  there  with 
those  of  their  own  sex  who  go  thither  as  pilgrims ;  and 
I  will  not  venture  to  say,  whether  too  great  a  fami- 
liarity with  those  places  in  which  the  sacred  mysteries 
of  our  Redemption  were  acted,  may  not  be  a  cause  to 
take  off  from  the  reverence  and  awe  which  they  should 
have  for  them,  and  lessen  the  influence  they  ought  to 
have  on  their  conduct." 

At  about  an  hour's  distance  to  the  south  of  Beth- 
lehem, are  the  pools  of  Solomon.  They  are  three  in 
number,  of  an  oblong  figure,  and  are  supported  by 
abutments.  The  antiquity  of  their  appearance  entitles 
them,  Dr.  Richardson  thinks,  to  be  considered  as  the 
work  of  the  Jewish  monarch :  "  like  every  thing 
Jewish,"  he  says,  "they  are  more  remarkable  for 
strength  than  for  beauty."  They  are  situated  at  the 
south  end  of  a  small  valley,  and  are  so  disposed  on  the 
sloping  ground,  that  the  waters  of  the  uppermost  may 
descend  into  the  second,  and  those  of  the  second  into 
the  third.  That  on  the  west  is  nearest  the  source  of 
the  spring,  and  is  about  480  feet  long ;  the  second  is 
about  600  feet  in  length,  and  the  third  about  6CO ; 
the  breadth  of  all  three  being  nearly  the  same,  about 
270  feet.*  They  are  lined  with  a  thick  coat  of  plaster, 
and  are  capable  of  containing  a  great  quantity  of 
water,  which  they  discharge  into  a  small  aqueduct 
that  conveys  it  to  Jerusalem.  This  aqueduct  is  built 

•  Maundrell  says,  ninety  paces  broad ;  their  length  160,  200,  and 
220  paces. 


THE    HOLY    LAND.  179 

on  a  foundation  of  stone:  the  water  runs  through 
round  earthen  pipes,  about  ten  inches  in  diameter, 
which  are  cased  with  two  stones,  hewn  out  so  as  to  fit 
,hun,  and  they  are  covered  over  with  rough  stones, 
well  cemented  together.  The  whole  is  so  much  sunk 
into  the  ground  on  the  side  of  the  hill  round  which  it 
is  carved,  that  in  many  places  nothing  is  to  be  seen  of 
it.  In  time  of  war,  however,  this  aqueduct  could  be 
of  no  service  to  Jerusalem,  as  the  communication 
could  be  easily  cut  off.  The  fountain  which  supplies 
these  pools,  is  at  about  the  distance  of  140  paces  from 
them.  "  This,"  says  Maundrell,  "  the  friars  will  have 
to  be  that  sealed  fountain  to  which  the  holy  spouse  is 
compared,  Cant.  iv.  12."  And  he  represents  it  to 
have  been  by  no  means  difficult  to  seal  up  these 
springs,  as  they  rise  under  ground,  and  have  no  other 
avenue  than  a  little  hole,  "  like  to  the  mouth  of  a 
narrow  well." — "  Through  this  hole  you  descend 
directly  down,  but  not  without  some  difficulty,  for 
about  four  yards  ;  and  then  arrive  in  a  vaulted  room 
fifteen  paces  long  and  eight  broad.  Joining  to  this,  is 
another  room  of  the  same  fashion,  but  somewhat  less. 
Both  these  rooms  are  covered  with  handsome  stone 
arches,  very  ancient,  and  perhaps  the  work  of  Solo- 
mon himself.  You  find  here  four  places  at  which  the 
water  rises.  From  these  separate  sources  it  is  con- 
veyed by  little  rivulets  into  a  kind  of  basin,  and  from 
thence  is  carried  by  a  large  subterraneous  passage 
down  into  the  pools.  In  the  way,  before  it  arrives  at 
the  pools,  there  is  an  aqueduct  of  brick  pipes,  which 
receives  part  of  the  stream,  and  carries  it  by  many 
turnings  and  windings  to  Jerusalem.  Below  the  pools, 
here  runs  down  a  narrow  rocky  valley  enclosed  on 
both  sides  with  high  mountains.  This  the  friars  will 


180  PALESTINE;  OR, 

have  to  be  "  the  enclosed  garden"  alluded  to  in  the 
same  place  of  the  Canticles.  As  to  the  pools,  i*  is 
probable  enough  they  may  be  the  same  with  Solo- 
mon's ;  there  not  being  the  like  store  of  excellent 
spring-water  to  be  met  with  any  where  else  through- 
out Palestine.  But,  for  the  gardens,  one  may  safely 
affirm,  that  if  Solomon  made  them  in  the  rocky  ground 
which  is  now  assigned  for  them,  he  demonstrated 
greater  power  and  wealth  in  finishing  his  design,  than 
wisdom  in  choosing  the  place  for  it."  * 

This  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  Etam,  Etham,  or 
Epham  of  the  Scriptures.  Josephus  says,  that  there 
were  very  pleasant  gardens,  abounding  with  water,  at 
Etham,  about  fifty  furlongs,  or  a  little  more  than  six 
miles  from  Jerusalem,  to  which  Solomon  used  to 
resort ;  f  and  the  Talmudists  mention  that  the  waters 
from  the  fountain  of  Epham  were  brought  to  Jeru- 
salem by  Solomon-!  Etam  is  mentioned  in  con- 
nexion with  Bethlehem  and  Tekoa,  as  one  of  the 
cities  built  by  Rehoboam :  ||  it  was  therefore,  doubt- 
less, in  this  neighbourhood.  If  any  stress  could  be 
laid  on  the  monkish  traditions,  the  ruined  village  on 
the  side  of  the  hill  below  the  aqueduct,  still  bears  the 
name  of  the  village  of  Solomon.  Altogether,  it  is  highly 
reasonable  to  conclude,  that  this  was  the  site  of  one  of 
king  Solomon's  houses  of  pleasure,  where  he  made  him 
"  gardens,  and  orchards,  and  pools  of  water."  § 

Tekoa  is  stated  by  Pococke  to  be  about  six  miles 
to  the  south  of  Bethlehem.  There  are  considerable 
ruins,  he  says,  on  the  top  of  the  hill,  which  is  -about 
half  a  mile  long  and  a  furlong  broad.  At  the  north- 
east corner  are  ruins  of  remains  of  a  large  castle, 

*  Maundrell.  t  Josephus,  Antiq.  lib.  viii.  cap.  7- 

*  Reland,  cited  by  Pococke.       I  2  Chron.  xi.  6.          Ecd.  ii. :>,  6. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  181 

"  which  some  call  a  church ;  but  that,"  he  says, 
44  seems  to  have  been  about  the  middle  of  the  hill. 
In  it  there  is  a  deep  octagon  font  of  red  and  white 
marble  :  I  saw  also  in  several  parts,  pieces  of  broken 
pillars  of  the  same  kind  of  marble."  These  remains 
are  possibly  as  ancient  as  the  time  of  the  Crusades, 
as  tradition  has  perpetuated  the  name  of  the  Frankish 
conquerors  in  this  neighbourhood.  The  hill  affords  a 
view  of  the  Dead  Sea  to  the  south-east,  of  Bethlehem 
to  the  north-west,  and  of  the  Mount  of  Bethulia  to 
the  west-north-west.  Towards  the  north-west  corner 
of  the  hill,  a  little  below  the  top,  is  a  grotto  or  cave, 
in  which  "  there  is  a  fountain  that  never  fails."  On 
another  elevation,  about  a  mile  to  the  south,  are  the 
ruins  of  a  large  church,  "  dedicated  to  St.  Pauta- 
leone ; "  and  to  the  east  of  Tekoa,  on  the  side  of 
another  steep  hill,  Pococke  lodged  in  a  ruined  castle, 
to  which  he  gives  the  name  of  Creightoun.  "  A  little 
beyond  this  place,  the  valley  runs  east  and  west ;  and 
on  the  right  hand  is  a  very  large  grotto,  which  the 
Franks  call  a  labyrinth,  and  the  Arabs  El  Maama, 
or  the  hiding-place.  The  high  rocks  on  the  side 
of  the  valley  are  almost  perpendicular,  and  the  way 
to  the  grotto  is  by  a  terrace  formed  in  the  rock, 
which,  either  by  art  or  nature,  is  very  narrow.  The 
rock  is  supported  by  great  natural  pillars;  the  top 
rises  in  several  parts  like  domes.  The  grotto  is  per- 
fectly dry  ;  and  there  are  no  petrifactions  or  stalactites 
in  it.  We  went  along  a  very  narrow  passage  for 
a  considerable  way,  but  did  not  find  the  end.  There 
is  a  tradition,  that  the  people  of  the  country,  to  the 
number  of  30,000,  retired  into  this  grotto  to  avoid 
a  bad  air ;  which  probably  might  have  been  the  hot 
winds  that  are  sometimes  very  fatal  in  these  countries. 
This  place  is  so  strong,  that  one  would  imagine  it 

PART  II.  M 


182  PALESTINE;  OK, 

to  be  one  of  the  strong  holds  at  Engaddi,  to  which 
David  with  his  men  fled  from  Saul ;  and  possibly  it 
may  be  that  very  cave  in  which  he  cut  off  Saul's  skirt ; 
for  David  and  his  men  might  with  great  ease  have  lain 
hid  here,  and  not  have  been  seen  by  him.  Beyond 
this  cave  there  is  a  spring  of  water  that  drops  from 
the  rocks." 

The  Mountain  of  the  Franks,  called  also  the  Mount 
of  Bethulia,  from  a  village  of  that  name  near  it, 
(though  no  such  place  is  mentioned  by  ancient  authors 
as  in  this  part  of  Palestine,)  is  "  a  single  hill,  very 
high :  the  top  appears  like  a  large  mount  formed 
by  art.  The  hill  is  laid  out  in  terraces,  the  first 
rising  about  ten  yards  above  the  foot  of  the  hill : 
above  this  the  hill  is  very  steep,  and  on  one  side 
there  is  a  gentle  ascent  made  by  art.  As  the  hill  was 
not  so  steep  to  the  south,  they  cut  a  deep  fosse  on 
that  side,  to  add  a  greater  strength  to  it :  the  foot  of 
the  hill  was  encompassed  with  a  wall.  There  was  a 
double  circular  fortification  at  top  ;  the  inner  wall 
was  defended  by  one  round  tower,  and  three  semi- 
circular ones  at  equal  distances,  the  first  being  towards 
the  east.  At  the  foot  of  the  hill,  to  the  north,  there 
are  great  ruins  of  a  church  and  other  buildings.  On 
a  hanging-ground  to  the  west  of  them,  there  is  a 
cistern,  and  the  basin  of  a  square  pond,  which  appears 
to  have  had  an  island  in  the  middle  of  it,  and  pro- 
bably there  was  some  building  on  it.  These  improve- 
ments were  also  encompassed  with  a  double  wall ;  and 
they  say,  that  there  are  remains  of  two  aqueducts  to  it, 
one  from  the  sealed  fountain  of  Solomon,  and  another 
from  the  hills  south  of  that  fountain."  Dr.  Pococke, 
from  whom  this  account  is  taken,  conjectures,  from 
the  relative  position  of  this  city,  as  near  Tekoah,  that 
it  is  the  ancient  Bethhaccerem,  mentioned  by  the 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  183 

prophet  Jeremiah  as  the  proper  place  for  a  beacon. 
(Jer.  vi.  1.)  The  works  of  the  church,  however,  are 
no  doubt  referrible  to  the  time  of  the  Frankish  king, 
dom  of  Jerusalem.  The  tradition  which  gives  name 
to  the  mountain,  is,  that  the  knights  of  Jerusalem 
held  this  place  forty  years  after  the  fall  of  the  sacred 
city.  Captain  Mangles  says  :  "  The  place  is  too  small 
ever  to  have  contained  even  half  the  number  of  men 
which  would  have  been  requisite  to  make  any  stand  in 
such  a  country ;  and  the  ruins,  though  they  may  be 
those  of  a  place  once  defended  by  Franks,  appear  to 
have  had  an  earlier  origin,  as  the  architecture  seems 
to  be  Roman — We  found  it  hollow  on  the  top,  with 
walls  round  it,  and  four  towers,  all  much  in  ruins." 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  is,  in  fact,  one  of 
the  works  of  Herod  ;  and  its  distance  seems  to  agree 
with  that  of  Herodium.  That  citadel  was  distant 
from  Jerusalem  about  sixty  furlongs.  It  was  built  on 
"  a  sort  of  a  moderate  hill,  raised  to  a  further  height 
by  the  hand  of  man,  till  it  was  of  the  shape  of  a  wo- 
man's breast.  It  is  encompassed  with  circular  towers, 
and  hath  a  straight  ascent  up  to  it."  Water  was 
brought  thither  from  a  great  distance,  and  at  a  vast 
expense,  the  place  being  destitute  of  water.  All 
which  exactly  answers  to  the  description.* 

All  these  places  may  be  considered  as  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  of  Jerusalem.  Another  excursion  usually 
taken  by  the  traveller,  is  to 

ST    JOHN'S  IN  THE  DESERT, 

WHICH  is  computed  to  be  about  bix  miles  to  the 
north-north-west  of  Bethlehem.  The  road  from  Beth, 
lehem  crosses  the  Valley  of  Rephaim.  In  about  half 

*  Joseph.  Antiq.  lib.  xiv,  cap.  13,  §  9;  lib.  xv.  cap.  9,  §  4. 


184  PALESTINE;   OR, 

an  hour,  the  traveller  comes  to  a  village  called  Boote- 
shallah,  a  village  of  Greeks  ;  which  for  some  time  they 
succeeded  in  keeping  to  themselves,  by  stoutly  main- 
taining that  no  Turk  could  live  in  it  above  two  years. 
Maundrell  states,  that  no  Turk  was  willing  to  stake 
his  life  in  experimenting  the  truth  of  it.  But,  a  few 
years  before  Dr.  Pococke  visited  the  place,  three  or 
four  of  the  inhabitants  had  become  converts  to  the 
Mahommedan  religion,  and  yet  had  the  courage  to 
continue  in  the  village :  thus  destroying  the  conve- 
nient spell.  Nothing  of  interest  occurs  in  this  route, 
unless  it  can  be  thought  worth  while  to  mention  ano- 
ther "  Virgin's  Fountain,"  and  a  village  and  fountain 
of  St.  Philip,  where,  of  course,  the  monks  tell  us  he 
baptized  the  Ethiopian  eunuch.  Dr.  Richardson  took 
a  different  route  to  St.  John's,  as  he  went  directly 
from  Jerusalem  ;  and  we  shall  therefore  avail  ourselves 
of  his  account,  as  furnishing  a  further  illustration  of 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  sacred  city. 

"  I  went  out  by  the  gate  of  Bethlehem,  and  turning 
to  the  right,  crossed  the  line  of  the  ravine,  and  pro- 
ceeded in  a  westerly  direction.  In  about  ten  minutes 
we  came  to  a  cistern,  with  very  little  water,  said  to  be 
the  upper  fountain  of  Gihon.  It  is  dug  in  the  rock, 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  pools  of  Solomon  beyond 
Bethlehem,  plastered  within,  and  supported  by  but- 
tresses, and  is  not  much  inferior  to  the  smallest 
of  them  in  dimensions.  Here  we  are  informed  that 
Zadok  the  priest,  and  Nathan  the  prophet,  anointed 
Solomon  king  over  Israel.  A  small  burial-ground  lay 
down  to  the  left;  a  flock  of  sheep  were  feeding 
around ;  their  shepherd  had  taken  his  station  on  an 
elevated  rock,  encompassed  with  ruins,  that  rises  on 
the  right,  to  catch  the  beams  of  the  morning  sun,  and 
with  his  almost  tuneless  reed  was  toiling  at  a  native 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  185 

air.  It  hardly  required  the  vicinity  of  Jerusalem,  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  or  a  recollection  of  the  wisest  of  men, 
to  render  this  a  most  interesting  scene.  "We  proceeded 
over  the  hill,  and  in  about  twenty  minutes  arrived  at 
the  convent  of  the  Holy  Cross,  which  is  pleasantly 
situated  on  the  edge  of  a  deep  ravine  ;  and  there  is  a 
hole  under  the  great  altar  in  the  church,  where  the 
tree  grew  of  which  the  true  cross  was  made.  *  This 
convent,  to  the  great  annoyance  of  the  Romish,  is  in 
possession  of  the  Greek  monks. 

"  We  next  passed  the  tombs  of  the  illustrious  Mac- 
cabees, situated  on  the  summit  of  a  lofty  hill  on  our 
right,  and  had  a  distant  view  of  the  interesting  country 
of  Samuel  the  seer ;  and  in  about  an  hour  after  leaving 
the  convent  in  Jerusalem,  we  arrived  at  the  convent 
of  St.  John.  This  monastery  is  built  over  the  spot 
where  John  the  Baptist,  the  forerunner  of  our  blessed 
Saviour,  was  born.  How  this  place  came  to  be  ascer- 
tained as  the  birth-place  of  John  I  do  not  know.-f- 


*  "  This  convent,"  says  Maundrell,  "  is  very  neat  in  its  struc- 
ture, and  in  its  situation  delightful.  But  that  which  most  deserves 
to  be  noted  in  it,  is  the  reason  of  its  name  and  foundation.  It  is 
because  here  is  the  earth,  that  nourished  the  root,  that  bore  the 
tree,  that  yielded  the  timber,  that  made  the  cross.  Under  the  high 
altar  you  are  shewn  a  hole  in  the  ground  where  the  stump  of  the 
tree  stood :  and  it  meets  with  not  a  few  visitants  so  much  verier 
stocks  than  itself,  as  to  fall  down  and  worship  it." 

t  The  present  Convent  of  St.  John  stands  at  about  three  fur- 
longs' distance  from  the  ruined  convent  shewn  as  the  houee  of 
Elizabeth.  "  If,"  shrewdly  remarks  Maundrell,  "  you  chance  to 
ask,  how  it  came  to  pass  that  Elizabeth  lived  in  one  house,  when 
she  was  with  child,  and  in  another  when  she  brought  him  forth  ? 
the  answer  you  are  like  f  receive  is,  that  the  former  was  her  coun- 
try-house, the  latter  her  city  habitation  ;  and  that  it  is  no  wonder 
for  a  wife  of  one  of  the  priests  of  better  rank  to  be  provided  with 
such  variety."  The  Convent  of  St.  John  had,  at  the  time  of  his 
visit  (1696),  been  rebuilt  from  the  ground  within  the  preceding  four 
years.  The  church  he  speaks  of  as  eminently  beautiful,  consisting 


186  PALESTINE;  OR, 

However,  in  the  church  belonging  to  the  convent,  we 
read  on  the  left  of  a  splendid  altar,  the  following 
inscription :  Hie  precursor  Domini  natus  est — Here 
the  forerunner  of  the  Lord  was  born.  On  the  right  is 
the  altar  of  Zacharias,  and  that  of  the  Visitation.  The 
church  is  well  proportioned,  with  a  number  of  hand- 
some columns,  some  tolerably  good  mosaic  in  the  floor, 
and  a  portrait  of  John  the  Baptist  stuck  up  against 
the  wall ;  but  it  has  a  poor  and  deserted  appearance, 
as  if  its  votaries  were  few,  and  but  little  concerned 
about  preserving  its  ancient  grandeur.  The  situation, 
however,  is  exceedingly  pleasant  ;  the  monks  are 
provided  with  excellent  apartments,  and  the  refectory 
furnished  me  with  a  comfortable  breakfast  of  coffee 
and  melted  butter. 

"  The  prospect  from  the  top  of  the  convent  pre- 
sented to  the  eye  a  small  cultivated  valley,  with  the 
sides  of  the  rising  ground  terraced,  and  planted  with 
the  olive,  the  vine,  and  the  fig-tree,  and  many  indi- 
cations that  this  species  of  agriculture  had  been  at  one 
time  much  more  extensive  than  at  present.  The  lofty 
Modin  falls  also  within  the  range  of  vision ;  it  is 
crowned  with  the  ruined  palace  of  the  Maccabees,  and 
the  burial-place  of  the  same  illustrious  family.* 

"  Having  examined  this  memorable  spot,  we  pro- 
ceeded through  the  village,  crossed  a  small  stream  that 
trickled  along  the  valley,  and  wound  our  way  over 
a  barren  track,  which  industry  has  cultivated  in 
terraces,  and  which,  though  called  the  desert,  is  really 

of  three  aisles,  with  a  handsome  cupola.  Artificers  were  still  em- 
ployed on  the  convent ;  and  yet,  the  friars  gave  out  that  not  a  stone 
had  been  laid  but  cost  them  a  dollar. 

*  Pococke  says  that  this  is  a  blunder ;  that  Modin,  where  the 
Maccabees  were  born  and  interred,  was  in  the  tribe  of  Dan.  The 
village  on  the  hill  is,  he  says,  called  Zuba.  The  tradition  he  re- 
gards as  unfounded. 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  187 

better  cultivated,  and  more  numerously  inhabited,  than 
any  part  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Jerusalem.  Having 
travelled  about  three-quarters  of  an  hour  in  a  north- 
west direction,  we  came  to  a  casale,  or  country  village, 
named  Colonia,  which  lay  down  on  our  right.  Small 
fields  of  grain  occur  in  different  places  ;  the  olive,  the 
vine,  and  fig-trees  abound;  and  here,  at  least,  the 
desert  may  be  said  to  bud  and  blossom  like  the  rose. 
About  a  quarter  of  an  hour  farther,  and  in  the  same 
direction,  but  without  any  regular  track  to  guide  our 
steps,  we  arrived,  in  company  with  a  native  of  Colonia, 
at  the  cave  of  St.  John.  It  is  situated  on  the  edge  of 
a  deep  rocky  ravine,  abounding  in  trees,  among  which 
are  many  of  those  called  locust  trees.*  Close  by  the 
cave  there  is  a  small  fountain  of  fresh  water,  supplied 
by  a  stream  from  the  rock,  and  the  ruins  of  a  small 
monastery  that  had  been  built  over  the  early  residence 
of  the  messenger  of  Christ.  A  small  cave,  about  ten 
feet  square,  and  the  scattered  fragments  of  a  small 
edifice,  are  all  that  remain  to  testify  the  splendour 
with  which  the  middle  ages  decorated  this  interesting 
spot.  The  vicinity  of  a  village,  and  the  cultivation 
consequent  upon  it,  have  taken  away  much  of  the 
desert  appearance  which  it  once  possessed  ;  for  now,  a 
residence  in  this  place  would  not  be  any  greater  ba- 
nishment from  the  society  of  man,  than  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  any  town  or  village  in  Judea. 

"  From  the  cave  of  St.  John  we  descended  the  hill 
in  an  easterly  direction  ;  and,  having  crossed  a  culti- 

*  "  The  monuments,"  justly  remarks  Maundrell,  "  of  the  igno- 
rance of  the  middle  tim  -s."  The  tree  alluded  to,  called  by  Pococke 
the  caroub-tree,  by  others  the  carob,  or  St.  John's  bread,  is  the 
ceratania  siliqua,  an  evergreen  of  the  order  polygamia  dicecia.  No- 
thing but  the  consummate  ignorance  of  the  monks  could  have  led 
to  the  invention  of  this  legend.  Locusts  are  expressly  mentioned 
as  lawful  food,  Levit.  xi.  21,  and  are  still  eaten  by  the  Arabs. 


188  PALESTINE;    OR, 

vated  valley,  of  a  tolerable  size  for  these  parts,  we 
arrived  in  about  twenty  minutes  at  the  place  in  the 
Valley  of  Turpentine,  which  is  recorded  as  the  scene 
of  conflict  between  David  and  Goliath.  Nothing  can 
be  better  described  than  the  ground  occupied  by  the 
two  opposing  armies  is  in  the  language  of  Scripture : 
4  And  Saul  and  the  men  of  Israel  were  gathered 
together,  and  pitched  by  the  Valley  of  Elah  (Turpen- 
tine), and  set  the  battle  in  array  against  the  Philis- 
tines ;  and  the  Philistines  stood  on  a  mountain  on 
the  one  side,  and  Israel  stood  on  a  mountain  on  the 
other  side,  and  there  was  a  valley  between  them.' 
This  valley  is  the  Valley  of  Elah ;  it  is  a  small  valley, 
and  the  place  of  their  encampment  is  pointed  out 
where  it  narrows  into  a  broad,  deep  ravine ;  part  of  it 
was  in  crop,  and  part  of  it  under  the  plough,  which 
was  drawn  by  a  couple  of  oxen.  A  small  stream,  which 
had  shrunk  almost  under  its  stony  bed,  passes  through 
it  from  east  to  west,  from  which  we  are  informed 
that  David  chose  out  five  smooth  stones,  and  hasted 
and  ran  to  meet  the  haughty  champion  of  Gath.  A 
well  of  water  under  the  bank,  with  a  few  olive-trees 
above,  on  the  north  side  of  the  valley,  are  said  to  mark 
the  spot  of  the  shepherd's  triumph  over  his  boasting 
antagonist.  Saul  and  his  men  probably  occupied  the 
side  of  the  valley  which  is  nearest  to  Jerusalem ;  on 
which  the  ground  is  higher  and  more  rugged  than 
on  the  other  side,  which  was  occupied  by  the  Philis- 
tines, who,  after  their  defeat,  retreated  to  Ekron ; 
and  David  brought  the  head  of  the  Philistine  to  Jeru- 
salem. From  Elah,  we  returned  along  a  pleasant  and 
picturesque  road  to  the  convent  of  St.  John,  and  thence 
retraced  our  steps  to  Jerusalem,  which  we  entered  a 
little  before  sun-set." 

The  uncertainty,  however,  in  which  the  topography 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  189 

of  Palestine  has  been  involved  by  the  misappropriation 
of  names  of  places,  affords  room  to  doubt  every  thing 
that  rests  on  monkish  authority.  This  Vale  of  Elah, 
which  the  Scripture  narrative  describes  as  lying  be- 
tween Shochoh  and  Azekah,  Pococke  makes  to  be  much 
further  west.  To  identify  the  scene,  it  will  only  be 
necessary  to  ascertain  the  site  of  those  two  ancient 
towns :  Azekah,  we  know,  was  between  Beth-horon 
and  Bethlehem ;  *  and  if  the  former  be  the  same  as 
the  modern  Bethoor,  the  Terebinthine  Vale,  or  Valley 
of  Elah,  might  seem  to  be  correctly  placed  between 
Bethoor  and  Bethlehem. 

Besides  the  route  generally  taken  by  the  pilgrims, 
by  way  of  Jericho  and  the  Jordan,  there  is  a  more 
direct  way  to  the  Daad  Sea  by  way  of 

SANTA  SABA, 

WHICH  was  taken  by  Dr.  Pococke,  and  which  crosses 
the  track  from  Jericho  to  Hebron. ' 

"  We  went,"  says  the  learned  traveller,  "  to  the 
south-east,-f-  along  the  deep  and  narrow  valley  in  which 
the  brook  Kedron  runs :  it  has  high  rocky  hills  on  each 
side,  which  are  shaped  into  terraces,  and  doubtless 
produced  formerly  both  corn  and  wine  ;  some  of  them 
are  cultivated  even  at  this  time.  After  travelling 
about  two  miles,  we  passed  by  a  village  on  a  hill  to  the 
right  called  Bethsaon,  which  is  seen  also  from  Beth- 
lehem. This  possibly  might  be  the  strong  castle  of 
Bethsura,  mentioned  in  the  history  of  the  Maccabees ;  £ 
though  it  is  extraoruinary  that  a  place  of  such  im. 

*  See  Josh.  x.  10, 11. 

t  This  must  be  inaccurate;  and  it  is  not  a  little  remarkable,  that 
this  learned  and  otherwise  correct  traveller  is  extremely  apt  to  give 
erroneous  bearings,  owing  to  some  fault  in  the  manner  of  his 
taking  his  observations.  $  2  Mace.  xi.  5. 


190  PALESTINE;  OR, 

portance,  which  was  only  five  furlongs  from  Jerusalem, 
should  be  mentioned  in  no  other  writings.  About  six 
miles  from  Jerusalem  we  ascended  a  hill  to  the  south, 
from  which  we  had  a  prospect  of  Sion,  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  and  Bethlehem.  We  soon  came  to  a  ruin 
called  Der  Benalbede ;  which,  from  the  name,  seems 
to  have  been  an  old  convent.  We  went  about  an 
hour  on  the  hills,  and  descending  a  little  to  the  south, 
came  to  a  lower  ground,  where  we  had  the  first  view 
of  St.  Saba.  Then  turning  east,  in  less  than  a  mile 
we  arrived  at  that  convent,  which  is  situated  in  a  very 
extraordinary  manner  on  the  high  rocks  over  the 
brook  Kedron.  There  are  a  great  number  of  grottoes 
about  it,  supposed  to  have  been  the  retreats  of  hermits. 
The  monastic  and  hermits'  life  was  instituted  here  in 
the  fourth  century  by  St.  Saba.  They  say  that  there 
have  been  10,000  recluses  here  at  one  time ;  and  some 
writers  aflirm  that,  in  St.  Saba's  time,  there  were 
14,000.  The  monks  of  this  convent  never  eat  flesh  ; 
and  they  have  such  privileges,  that  no  Mahommedan 
can  enter  the  convent,  under  the  penalty  of  paying  500 
dollars  to  the  mosque  of  the  Temple  of  Solomon. 
There  are  some  ruins  of  a  building  in  the  way  down 
to  the  brook  Kedron,  which  probably  are  remains  of 
the  novitiate  for  breeding  up  young  men  to  the 
monastic  life,  which  is  mentioned  as  belonging  to  the 
convent.  John  Damascenus,  Euphemius,  and  Cyril 
the  Monk  of  Jerusalem,  lived  in  this  retirement : 
which  is  computed  to  be  equally  distant  from  Jerusa- 
lem, Bethlehem,  and  the  Dead  Sea;  that  is,  about 
three  hours  from  each  of  them." 

There  are  two  other  places  in  the  environs  of  Jeru- 
salem which  remain  to  be  noticed  :  Emmaus,  which  is 
within  two  hours'  ride  of  the  city,  to  the  N.W.  of 
Modin,  and  Hebron,  which  is  five  hours  to  the  S.W. 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  191 

of  Bethlehem.  The  latter  was  formerly  one  of  the 
places  regularly  resorted  to  by  the  pilgrims ;  but  so  far 
back  as  when  Dr.  Pococke  was  in  Palestine,  it  was  no 
longer  deemed  safe  to  venture  in  its  neighbourhood ; 
it  will,  however,  occur  in  the  route  to  the  Dead  Sea. 
Emmaus,  according  to  Pococke,  is  now  called  by  the 
Arabs  Coubeby,  or  Djebeby.  It  lies  about  three  miles 
to  the  W.  of  Rama,  or  Ramathaim-Zophim,  the  town 
and  burial-place  of  Samuel ;  which  still  is  called 
Samuele  by  the  Arabs,  and  contains  a  mosque  erected 
over  the  supposed  sepulchre  of  the  prophet.  To  the 
right  of  the  modern  village  of  Emmaus,  on  a  rising 
ground,  Dr.  Pococke  observed  great  ruins  of  the  old 
town,  among  which  is  a  church,  erected,  as  the  reader 
will  anticipate,  on  the  identical  site  of  the  house  of 
Cleophas.  But  there  are  here  no  objects  of  interest. 
To  the  north  of  Samuele  is  a  very  fine  valley,  probably 
the  Valley  of  Ajalon,  from  which  rise  two  hills  ;  that 
to  the  west  has  two  summits,  on  the  most  northern  of 
which  is  a  village  called  Geb,  perhaps  Gibeon. 

An  annual  procession  of  pilgrims  takes  place  after 
the  celebration  of  the  Greek  Easter,  to  the  river 
Jordan ;  and  many  proceed  as  far  as  the  Dead  Sea, 
performing  their  ablutions  in  both.  But  we  shall  now 
lay  aside  the  cockle-shell  and  pilgrim's  weeds,  and 
take  a  final  leave  of  the  environs  of  the  Holy  City ;  as 
in  the  tracts  of  country  which  it  remains  to  explore, 
to  the  west  and  south  of  Jerusalem,  Quaresmius  and 
Doubdau,  Sandys  and  Chateaubriand,  and  even  our 
faithful  Maundrell  and  Pococke,  can  afford  us  no  aid. 
Our  knowledge  of  JL  large  portion  of  the  ancient  king- 
dom of  Judea  is  almost  entirely  derived  from  the 
enterprising  labours  of  modern  English  travellers. 

Let  us  cast  back  one  look  on  the  most  interesting 
spot  in  the  world, — where  once  stood  the  metropolis 


192  PALESTINE;  OR, 

of  .Judea.  Fuit  Hierosotyma.  To  conceive  of  its 
ancient  aspect,  we  must  endeavour  to  shut  our  eyes  to 
the  domes,  and  minarets,  and  castellated  towers  which 
now  revolt  every  pleasing  and  sacred  association  — 
we  must  forget  the  Turks,  the  Arabs,  and  the  monks, 
and  blot  out  from  the  picture  the  holy  sepulchre,  with 
all  the  horrible  mummery  connected  with  it.  We 
must  imagine  ourselves  looking  down  from  Mount 
Olivet  on  a  well-peopled  and  strongly-fortified  city, 
occupying  the  oblong  area  of  two  sloping  hills,  about 
four  miles  in  circumference,  and  sheltered  on  almost 
every  side  by  more  commanding  elevations,  cultivated 
in  terraces,  and  clothed  to  their  very  summits  with 
the  olive,  the  fig-tree,  and  the  palm.  We  must  bear 
in  recollection,  that  artillery  was  not  invented  when 
Jerusalem  was  approached  by  the  Roman  armies ;  and 
that  its  natural  position,  as  surrounded  on  three  sides 
with  deep  ravines,  and  on  the  fourth  side  with  a 
triple  wall,  rendered  it  all  but  impregnable.  In  point 
of  strength,  therefore,  the  site  was  admirably  chosen  ; 
while  its  numerous  springs  and  water-courses,  a  cir- 
cumstance of  the  first  importance  in  that  country, 
rendered  it  "  beautiful  for  situation," — imparting  fer- 
tility to  the  rich  alluvial  soil  of  the  surrounding  valleys, 
where  the  Jews  had  their  gardens,  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  East ;  the  gardens  and  burying-places 
which  environ  the  towns,  as  at  Gaza  and  Jaffa,  being 
their  greatest  ornament.  It  was  in  a  garden  thus 
situated,  that  Joseph  of  Arimathea  had  hewn  out  a 
sepulchre  in  the  rock  which  rose  from  the  other  side 
of  the  valley  —  probably  in  some  part  of  the  Valley 
of  Jehoshaphat,  through  which  flowed  the  river 
Kedron.  with  its  little  tributaries,  the  Siloa  and  the 
Gihon,  "  making  glad  the  city  of  God."  *  The  city 

*  Psalm  xlvi.  4.     Isa.  viii.  6.    John  xvjii.  1. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  193 

itself,  if  it  could  not  boast  of  a  Parthenon,  was  probably 
equal,  in  architectural  decoration,  to  any  one  then 
standing  in  the  world.*  It  could  not,  indeed,  compare 
with  Babylon  or  Nineveh,  or  the  hundred- gated 
metropolis  of  Egypt,  either  in  extent  or  magnificence ; 
but  its  two  temples  —  the  one  built  by  Solomon,  and 
the  other  repaired  and  completed  by  Herod  —  were 
successively  the  admiration  of  the  world.  Of  the 
latter,  Josephus  has  left  us  a  description,  which,  mak- 
ing every  allowance  for  his  national  partiality,  must 
be  held  to  prove  that  it  was  every  way  worthy  of  the 
founder  of  Cesarea  and  Sebaste,  and  the  other  cities 
which  attest  the  greatness  of  the  Jewish  monarch.. 
The  stupendous  foundations  on  which  the  terrace 
rested,  at  the  height  of  600  perpendicular  feet  from 
the  valley,  which  was  formed  to  extend  the  area  of 
the  temple,  stiil  remain  to  indicate  the  gigantic  nature 
of  the  work.  From  the  temple  the  city  had  the 
appearance  of  an  amphitheatre,  the  slope  of  the  hill 
being  just  sufficient  to  present  it  to  the  greatest 
advantage.  At  certain  distances,  towers  of  not  less 
strength  than  architectural  beauty,  broke  the  line  of 
the  walls ;  while  on  the  left,  the  acropolis  of  Zion 
overlooked  the  whole  city.  Modern  Jerusalem,  though 
now  disfigured  by  intervals  of  waste  ground  and 
ruined  heaps,  still  suggests  the  idea  of  "  a  compact 
city ;"  -f-  but  when  every  part  was  built  upon,  it  must 
have  peculiarly  deserved  this  appellation.  Its  ancient 
populousness  we  read  of  with  surprise ;  its  gates  re- 
ceived an  influx  of  strangers  from  all  parts ;  and  the 
wealth  thus  poured  into  it,  rendered  it  probably  one 
of  the  richest  cities  in  the  world.  If  to  these  topo- 
graphical and  political  advantages,  we  add  the  local 

*  Psalm  xlviii.  12,  13.  t  Psalm  cxxii.  3. 


194  PALESTINE;  OR, 

sanctity  which  dignified  the  scene  of  so  many  proud 
historical  recollections,  and  connect  with  the  bulwarks, 
and  palaces,  and  gardens  of  the  metropolis  of  Judea,  its 

consecrated  character  as  the  peculiar  abode  of  Deity 

the  chosen  mountain  of  Jehovah — the  "  city  of  God;" 
we  shall  obtain  some  idea  of  the  aspect  which  it  once 
presented,  when  the  light  of  Heaven,  which  no 
where  comes  with  a  purer  ray,  shone  on  a  free  and 
favoured  people,  and  the  voice  of  joy  and  thanks- 
giving was  heard  ascending  from  the  dwellings  of  her 
citizens. 

ROUTE  FROM  JERUSALEM  TO  HEBRON  AND 
THE  DEAD  SEA. 

OF  that  part  of  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Judah 
which  lay  between  the  country  of  the  Philistines  and 
the  western  coast  of  the  Dead  Sea,  little  or  nothing 
was  known,  till  the  enterprising  spirit  of  Burckhardt, 
Seetzen,  and  our  distinguished  countryman  Mr.Bankes, 
led  them  to  forsake  the  beaten  track  of  pilgrimage, 
and  .penetrate  into  regions  concealed  during  more  than 
five  centuries  from  European  observation.  Yet,  within 
this  district  are  comprised  sites  of  peculiar  interest ; 
among  others  Hebron,  one  of  the  most  ancient  cities 
in  the  world,*  the  burial-place  of  the  patriarch  Abra- 
ham,-)- for  several  years  the  capital  of  king  David,  J 
and  the  birth-place  of  John  the  Baptist.  §  To  this 
interesting  spot,  situated  in  the  heart  of  the  hill- 
country  of  Judea,  there  is  a  route  from  Gaza,  referred 
to  by  Sandys,  but  unexplored  by  any  modern  traveller. 
The  whole  of  the  intermediate  country,  including 
some  places  of  ancient  note,  remains  to  be  examined. 

*  Num.  xiiL  22.  f  Gen.  xxiii.  2 ;  xlix.  31. 

*  2  Sam.  ii.  11.  §  Luke  i.  39,  compare  with  Josh.  xxi.  1 1. 


THE  HOLY   LAND.  195 

Here  we  must  look  for  Gath,  one  of  the  five  Philistine 
satrapies,  and  the  furthest  inland,  which  lay  on  the 
road  from  Gaza  to  Eleutheropolis  ;  and  here  we  must 
look  for  that  episcopal  city,  from  which  Eusebius  and 
Jerome  estimate  the  distances  and  positions  of  other 
cities.*  Through  the  same  tract  of  country,  in  a 
longitudinal  direction,  a  Roman  road  ran  from  Jeru- 
salem to  Aila  or  yElana,  from  which  the  Gulf  of  Akaba 
received  its  classical  name  ;  and  at  this  point,  geo- 
graphers place  the  ancient  Eziongeber,  to  which  the 
dominion  of  Solomon  extended,  as  its  extreme  south- 
eastern boundary.  On  this  line  .were  situated  several 
Roman  stations  ;  the  names  are  specified  of  Elusa, 
Eboda,  Lysa,  Gypsaria,  and  Rasa.  The  southern- 
most city  of  the  Holy  Land,  however,  was  Beersheba, 
about  twenty  miles  below  Hebron,  and  more  to  the 
west :  it  was  given  to  the  tribe  of  Simeon,  whose 
territory  lay  between  that  of  Judah  and  the  coast. 
A  line  drawn  from  the  southern  border  of  the  Dead 
Sea  to  "  the  river  of  Egypt, " -f  (supposed  to  be  the 
stream  which  falls  into  the  Mediterranean  between 
Dair  and  Gaza,)  gives  the  ancient  border  of  Judah 
and  Edom.  But,  subsequently,  the  boundaries  became 

*  Its  distance,  of  twenty  miles  from  Jerusalem,  is  given  by 
Josephus.  Antoninus,  in  his  Itinerary,  describes  it  as  twenty-four 
miles  from  Askelon,  and  eighteen  from  Lydda,  while  Eusebius 
places  it  five  miles  from  Gath,  six  from  Lachish,  twenty-five  from 
Gerar,  twenty  from  Jattir,  and  eight  from  Keilah.  Jerome  states 
it  to  have  been  the  metropolis  of  the  Horites — ubi  antea  habitave- 
runt  Hormi,  qui  interpretantur  liberi,  unde  et  ipsa  urbs  posted  sortita 
vocabuium  est. 

f  Joshua  xv.  1 — 4.  Some  have  supposed,  that  by  this  expression 
the  Nile  was  intended,  but  this  notion  is  at  variance  with  the 
precise  boundaries  laid  down  by  the  sacred  historian.  It  was  pro- 
bably so  named  as  the  boundary  of  Egypt.  Dair  is  perhaps  the 
ancient  Adar. 


196  PALESTINE;  OR, 

involved,  by  invasion  and  conquest,  in  considerable 
uncertainty,  and  the  Roman  province  of  Idumea 
trenched  on  the  territory  of  Judea.  Hebron  itself 
is  spoken  of  by  Josephus  as  belonging  to  Edom.  Dis- 
regarding, therefore,  the  indefinite  division  of  these 
once  hostile  territories,  we  shall  do  best  to  consider 
the  whole  of  Idumea  as  an  integral  part  of  the  Holy 
Land  :  it  was,  in  fact,  included  within  the  dominions 
of  Solomon :  it  formed  a  province  of  Herod's  king- 
dom, whose  father  was  an  Edomite  ;  and  its  Christian 
bishops  are  described  in  ecclesiastical  history  as  having 
their  dioceses  in  the  third  Palestine. 

Hebron  used  to  be  frequented  by  Christian  pilgrims, 
till,  as  some  travellers  tell  us,  an  Englishman  un- 
fortunately rode  over  a  child,  or  some  other  reason, 
real  or  pretended,  led  the  monks  of  Jerusalem  to 
dissuade  all  Europeans  from  venturing  to  the  south 
of  Bethlehem.*  Sandys  describes  it  (apparently  from 

*  The  fact  appears  to  be,  that  the  Bethlehemites  and  the 
Hebronites  are  at  constant  variance.  Ali  Bey  met,  on  the  road 
to  Bethlehem,  a  band  of  Christian  shepherds,  who  were  going 
to  Jerusalem  to  lay  a  complaint  against  the  Mussulman  shep- 
herds of  El  Hhalil,  or  Hebron,  who  had  carried  off  a  part  of  their 
cattle.  "  They  had  with  them  two  camels,  which  they  had 
taken  from  the  Mussulmans  as  reprisals.  The  principal  shepherd 
related  the  affair  to  one  of  the  most  respectable  schereefs  of 
Jerusalem,  who  accompanied  me;  and  he  explained  himself  in 
such  energetic  terms,  that  my  imagination  pictured  to  itself  the 
quarrels  of  Abraham's  shepherds  with  those  of  Lot,  the  war  of 
the  Five  Kings,  &c.  They  still  preserve  the  same  character, 
manners,  and  customs ;  as  also  the  same  costume,  which  consists 
of  a  shirt  of  reddish  white  wool,  bound  round  the  waist  by  a 
girdle  or  leathern  belt,  a  black  cloth  thrown  over  the  shoulders, 
and  a  piece  of  white  cloth  round  the  head."  (Travels,  vol.  ii. 
p.  231.)  Hasselquist  states,  that  the  Bethlehemites  "  are  almost 
in  constant  quarrels  with  the  Hierosolymytes,  or  with  the  in- 
habitants of  Hebron,  or  some  other  of  the  neighbouring  villages, 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  197 

report  only)  as  in  his  time  "  utterly  ruinated."  "  Hard 
by,"  he  adds,  "  there  is  a  little  village,  seated  in  the 
field  of  Machpelah,  where  standeth  a  goodly  temple, 
erected  over  the  cave  of  their  burial  (that  of  the 
patriarchs)  by  Helena,  the  mother  of  Constantine  • 
converted  now  into  a  mosque."  This  does  not  accu- 
rately correspond  to  the  position  of  Hebron,  which 
is  situated  on  the  slope  of  a  hill ;  but  the  church  of 
Helena  remains.  Ali  Bey,  who  visited  Hebron  in 
1807,  passed  as  a  Mussulman,  and  was  consequently 
admitted  into  the  mosque,  which  is  jealously  guarded 
by  the  Turks.  He  gives  the  following  description  of 
the  interior.  "  The  sepulchres  of  Abraham  and  of  his 
family  are  in  a  temple  that  was  formerly  a  Greek 
church.  The  ascent  to  it  is  by  a  large  and  fine  stair, 
case,  that  leads  to  a  long  gallery,  the  entrance  to 
which  is  by  a  small  court.  Towards  the  left  is  a 
portico,  resting  upon  square  pillars.  *  The  vestibule 
of  the  temple  contains  two  rooms ;  the  one  to  the 
right  contains  the  sepulchre  of  Abraham,  and  the 
other,  to  the  left,  that  of  Sarah.  In  the  body  of 
the  church,  which  is  Gothic,  between  two  large  pillars 

and  their  differences  are  seldom  adjusted  without  the  effusion  of 
blood.  Five  or  six  year  ago  (1751),  the  inhabitants  of  Bethlehem 
and  Hebron  carried  on  such  a  war  as  destroyed  the  greatest  part  of 
the  best  inhabitants  of  both  villages ;  and  the  neighbourhood  of 
Bethlehem  was  entirely  laid  waste." 

*  The  lower  part  of  the  outer  wall,  Captain  Mangles  states,  is 
evidently  antique,  being  built  of  great  stones,  some  of  them 
upwards  of  twenty-fire  feet  in  length.  "  It  has  sixteen  pilasters 
on  each  side,  and  eight  on  either  end,  without  capitals,  excepting 
a  sort  of  ornamental  su.nmit,  which  extends  along  the  whole 
building,  and  is  a  species  of  cornice :  above  this  is  a  continua- 
tion of  modern  masonry."  The  approach  to  the  entrance  is  by 
a  long  flight  of  steps,  which  connect  the  edifice  with  other  ruined 
buildings. 


198  PALESTINE;  OK, 

on  the  right,  is  seen  a  small  house,  in  which  is  the 
sepulchre  of  Isaac ;  and  in  a  similar  one,  upon  the 
left,  is  that  of  his  wife.  The  church,  which  has  been 
converted  into  a  mosque,  has  a  meherel,  the  tribune 
for  the  preacher  on  Fridays,  and  another  tribune  for 
the  mueddenS)  or  singers.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
court  is  another  vestibule,  which  has  also  a  room  on 
each  side.  In  that  upon  the  left  is  the  sepulchre  of 
Jacob,  and  in  that  upon  the  right,  that  of  his  wife. 
At  the  extremity  of  the  portico  of  the  temple,  upon 
the  right,  is  a  door  which  leads  to  a  sort  of  long  gal. 
lery,  that  still  serves  as  a  mosque.  From  thence  I 
passed  into  another  room,  in  which  is  the  sepulchre 
of  Joseph,  who  died  in  Egypt,  and  whose  ashes  were 
brought  hither  by  the  people  of  Israel.  All  the 
sepulchres  of  the  patriarchs  are  covered  with  rich 
carpets  of  green  silk,  magnificently  embroidered  with 
gold  :  those  of  their  wives  are  red,  embroidered  in 
like  manner.  The  sultans  of  Constantinople  furnish 
these  carpets  which  are  renewed  from  time  to  time. 
I  counted  nine,  one  over  the  other,  upon  the  sepulchre 
of  Abraham.  The  rooms  also  which  contain  the  tombs 
are  covered  with  rich  carpets.  The  entrance  to  them 
is  guarded  by  iron  gates,  and  wooden  doors  plated 
with  silver,  with  bolts  and  padlocks  of  the  same  metal. 
There  are  reckoned  to  be  more  than  a  hundred  per- 
sons employed  in  the  service  of  the  temple ;  it  is  con- 
sequently easy  to  imagine  how  many  alms  must  be 
paid."  * 

Is  this  the  cave  of  the  field  of  Machpelah,  which 
was  before  Mamre  ?  As  truly  so,  no  doubt,  as  the 
church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  is  the  tomb  of  Joseph 
of  Ariinathea.  The  Moslems,  in  this  instance  also, 

*  Travels,  vol.  ii.  pp.  232,  233. 


THE  HOLY  LAND-  199 

seem  only  to  have  adopted  the  sacred  places  which 
they  found  already  designated  by  the  Christians. 
Joseph,  we  know,  was  not  buried  at  Hebron,  but  at 
Sichem  ;  and  the  ignorance  which  has  assigned  him 
a  sepulchre  here,  affects  the  credibility  of  the  whole 
legend.  But  the  local  features  of  the  place,  so  far 
as  we  can  gather  from  the  above  description,  are 
at  entire  variance  with  the  history.  Here  would 
seem  to  be  no  cave,  no  grotto,  but  a  Gothic  edifice, 
approached  by  a  long  flight  of  steps,  consequently  on 
an  elevation,  Hebron  itself  being  on  the  slope  of  a  hill. 
It  is  not  said  that  any  part  of  the  gallery  or  of  the 
rooms  is  excavated  :  the  exterior  is  clearly  a  building ; 
not,  as  in  other  cases,  a  building  over  a  crypt,  but 
enclosing  the  supposed  tombs  on  its  elevated  level. 
The  whole  appears  to  be  only  a  repetition  of  the  pious 
mummery  which  we  have  met  with  at  Jerusalem  and 
at  Bethlehem.  The  empress  Helena  never  con- 
descended to  consult  even  probabilities. 

But  it  may  be  thought  that,  although  the  stable  of 
Bethlehem,  the  spot  where  the  cross  was  erected,  and 
the  place  where  Peter's  cock  crew,  could  not  be  identi- 
fied, the  situation  of  the  sepulchre  of  Abraham  must 
have  been  preserved  by  tradition  ;  and  the  Christians 
could  not  have  imposed  a  contradictory  legend  on  the 
Jews.  Even  supposing,  however,  that  it  was  known 
to  the  natives  in  the  fourth  century,  we  have  no 
reason  to  believe  that  they  were  consulted  by  the 
priests  of  Helena;  except,  indeed,  in  one  notorious 
instance,  when  a  Jew  was  put  to  the  torture  in  order 
to  induce  him  to  find  *he  Cross  ;  and  they  would  have 
been  disposed  to  conceal,  rather  than  to  disclose,  the 
site  of  the  patriarch's  sepulchre.  We  do  not  know 
whether  the  modern  Jews  acknowledge  the  mosque 
at  Hebron  to  be  the  site  of  Abraham's  tomb ;  but,  if 


200  PALESTINE;  OR, 

they  do,  their  consummate  ignorance  nullifies  their 
authority.  It  so  happens,  indeed,  that  they  give  the 
name  of  "  the  House  of  Abraham"  to  the  ruins  of 
"  a  small  old  convent"  which  stands  in  the  plain  be- 
tween Sipheer  and  Hebron  ;  and  it  would  be  difficult 
to  shew  why  the  testimony  of  tradition  should  be  re- 
lied  upon  in  the  one  case,  and  rejected  in  the  other. 
Yet,  we  have  good  reason  for  believing  that  Abraham 
never  lived  in  a  house  of  any  kind.  It  is  just  possible, 
however,  that  there  may  be  some  reason  for  their 
bestowing  this  name  on  the  building  in  question  ;  and, 
were  it  nearer  Hebron,  it  might  seem  to  promise  the 
discovery  of  the  sepulchral  cave. 

Mr.  Bankes,  who,  with  Captains  Irby  and  Mangles 
and  Mr.  Legh,  passed  through  Hebron  on  their  way 
to  Kerek  in  May  1818,  were  the  first  Englishmen 
who  had  been  there  for  many  centuries.  Their  route 
from  Jerusalem  was  through  Bethlehem  and  Tekoa, 
and  thence  through  a  cultivated  plain  to  a  village 
called  Sipheer,  by  the  side  of  a  valley.  Here  they 
noticed  nine  sepulchral  caves,  apparently  of  Roman 
workmanship.  On  leaving  this  village  they  crossed  a 
rugged  road  into  another  plain,  where  are  the  ruins 
of  the  small  convent  already  mentioned,  to  which  the 
Jews  give  the  name  of  the  House  of  Abraham.  The 
road  then  ascends  the  hills,  passing  between  vineyards, 
each  having  its  watch-tower  for  the  remainder  of  the 
way.  The  whole  distance  from  Tekoa  to  Hebron  is 
described  as  a  much  prettier  country  than  that  near 
Jerusalem,  the  sides  of  the  hills  being  richly  studded 
with  the  prickly  oak,  the  arbutus,  and  the  Scotch  fir, 
with  other  dwarf  trees  and  flowering-shrubs. 

Hebron,  now  called  El  Hhalil,  is  not  a  town  of 
large  dimensions,  but  the  population  is  considerable. 
According  to  All  Bey,  it  contains  about  400  families 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  201 

of  Arabs ;  but  he  does  not  notice  either  the  Jews,  who 
are  numerous,  or  the  Turks.  He  describes  it  as 
situated  on  the  slope  of  a  mountain,  and  having  a 
strong  castle.  Provisions,  he  says,  are  abundant,  and 
there  is  a  considerable  number  of  shops.  The  streets 
are  winding,  and  the  houses  unusually  high.  The 
country  is  well  cultivated,  to  a  considerable  extent. 
Captain  Mangles  states  that  they  passed  in  their  route 
many  camps  of  cultivating  Arabs.  The  sheikh  of 
Hebron,  who  has  the  title  of  Hakim,  is  himself  a  na- 
tive Arab.  The  town  is  stated,  by  the  last£mentioned 
writer,  to  contain  a  hundred  Jewish  houses ;  and  their 
quarters  are  said  to  be  remarkably  clean,  the  walls 
being  neatly  whitewashed.  They  have  here  a  syna- 
gogue, and  their  priest  appears  to  be  in  the  confidence 
of  the  motsellim,  or  Turkish  governor.  The  latter 
personage,  on  observing  the  Tartar  attendant  of  Mr. 
Legh,  said,  with  a  good-humoured  air,  that  "  a  few 
years  ago,  if  a  Tartar  had  come  to  Hebron,  he  would 
have  had  his  head  cut  off,  but  that  it  was  not  so 
now."  There  is  here  a  manufactory  of  glass  lamps, 
which  are  exported  to  Egypt.  A  regular  party  of  mer- 
chants and  pilgrims  set  out  every  year,  without  any 
escort,  so  as  to  fall  in  with  the  great  Damascus  hadj 
near  to  or  at  Mecca,  which  is  stated  to  be  at  thirty 
days'  distance.  Hebron  is  computed  to  be  twenty- 
seven  miles  S.W.  of  Jerusalem. 

At  about  three  days'  distance  from  Hebron,  to  the 
south,  the  travellers  were  informed  of  extensive  ruins 
at  Abdi  in  the  Desert.  On  leaving  Hebron  for  Kerek, 
their  road,  turning  tovards  the  Dead  Sea,  leads,  in  a 
S.E.  direction,  through  a  tolerably  well  cultivated,  but 
uninteresting  country,  presenting  numerous  ruined 
sites,  some  with  excavated  tombs  in  their  immediate 
vicinity ;  till,  at  about  three  hours'  distance,  or  some- 


202  PALESTINE;  OR, 

what  less,  the  cultivated  land  is  succeeded  by  a  desert 
country,  abandoned  to  the  wandering  Arabs.  Near 
where  this  change  of  aspect  begins  to  present  itself, 
is  a  place  called  by  the  natives  El  Baid,  where  there 
is  a  fountain  in  the  rock,  and  a  second  pool  of  green- 
ish water :  an  ancient  site  to  the  N. W.  of  this  spot, 
exhibits  a  wall  of  large  construction  and  some  good 
masonry. 

The  travellers,  at  some  distance  from  this  halting, 
place,  fell  in  with  a  camp  of  Jellaheen  Arabs,  who 
stated  that  in  years  of  scarcity  they  retired  to  Egypt ; 
a  custom  which  would  seem  to  have  been  handed 
down  from  the  days  of  the  patriarchs,  or  dictated  by 
the  same  necessity  which  compelled  the  sons  of  Jacob 
to  adopt  a  similar  expedient.  Among  them  was  an 
Arab  tailor,  employed  in  making  coats  of  sheep-skins, 
which  he  dyed  red  with  ochre,  or  some  such  sub- 
stance.* 

At  about  eight  hours'  distance  from  El  Baid,  in 
a  deep  barren  valley,  very  rugged  and  full  of  great 
stones,  there  are  the  ruins  of  an  old  Turkish  fort, 
standing  on  a  single  rock  to  the  left  of  the  track  ;  and 
on  the  right  there  is  a  pool  of  green  water,  about 
fifteen  feet  wide,  tolerable  for  horses.  Further  on, 
the  cliff  is  excavated,  at  a  considerable  height,  into 
loop-holes,  and  the  pass  appears  to  have  been  a  sort 
of  barrier,  where  duties  were  probably  levied  on  the 
traveller.  The  place  is  called  El  Zoar.  From  hence, 
a  gravelly  ravine,  studded  with  bushes  of  acacia  and 
other  shrubs,  conducts  to  the  great  sandy  plain  at  the 
southern  end  of  the  Dead  Sea.  On  entering  this 
plain,  the  traveller  has  on  his  right  a  continued  hill, 
composed  partly  of  salt,  and  partly  of  hardened  sand, 

*  Exod.  xxv.  5. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  203 

running  S.E.  and  N. W. ;  till,  after  proceeding  a  few 
miles,  the  plain  opens  to  the  south,  bounded,  at  the 
distance  of  about  eight  miles,  by  a  sandy  cliff,  from 
sixty  to  eighty  feet  high,  which  traverses  the  valley 
of  El  Ghor,  like  a  wall,  forming  a  barrier  to  the 
waters  of  the  lake  when  at  their  greatest  height.  The 
existence  of  that  long  valley,  which,  under  the  names 
of  El  Ghor  and  El  Araba,  extends  from  the  Dead  Sea 
to  the  JElanitic  gulf,  was  first  ascertained  by  the 
indefatigable  Burckhardt.  This  prolongation  of  the 
valley  of  the  Jordan  is  considered  by  his  learned 
editor  as  clearly  indicating  that  that  river  once  dis- 
charged itself  into  the  eastern  branch  of  the  Red  Sea ; 
thus  "  confirming  the  truth  of  that  great  volcanic 
convulsion  described  in  Gen.  xix.,  which  interrupted 
the  course  of  the  river,  which  converted  into  a  lake 
the  fertile  plain  occupied  by  the  cities  of  Adma, 
Zeboin,  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  which  changed 
all  the  valley  to  the  southward  of  that  district  into 
a  sandy  desert."*  The  sandy  cliff,  described  by  Cap- 
tains Irby  and  Mangles,  was  probably  either  thrown 
up  at  the  time  of  that  convulsion,  or  has  been  sub- 
sequently formed  by  accumulation,  like  the  sand-hills 
of  Egypt. 

Many  of  our  older  travellers  have  described  the 
north-western  shores  of  the  Dead  Sea,  to  which  the 
pilgrims  are  accustomed  to  repair  from  Jerusalem ;  but 
we  are  now,  for  the  first  time,  put  in  possession,  by 
the  publication  above  referred  to,  of  correct  informa- 
tion respecting  its  southern  boundary,  and  the  singu- 
lar phenomena  which  its  shores  present. 

*  Burckhardt's  Travels  in  Syria,  pref.  vL 


204  PALESTINE;  OR, 


THE  DEAD  SEA. 

THIS  celebrated  lake,  which  the  prevailing  passion 
for  the  marvellous  long  invested  with  imaginary  hor- 
rors, and  of  which  the  natives  themselves  still  speak 
with  a  degree  of  terror,  has  received  different  names 
expressive  of  its  character  and  origin.  In  Scripture, 
it  is  called  the  sea  of  the  Plain,  the  Salt  Sea,  and 
the  East  Sea.*  By  Josephus,  and  the  Greek  and 
Roman  writers,  it  is  spoken  of  under  the  appellation 
of  Lake  -  Asphaltites,  that  is,  the  Bituminous  Lake. 
St.  Jerome  styles  it  the  Dead  Sea,  because,  according 
to  the  tradition,  nothing  could  live  in  it.  The  Arabs 
call  it  El  Amout  (the  dead),  and  Bohr  Louth,  or  the 
Sea  of  Lot ;  and  the  Turks,  according  to  Chateau- 
briand, Ula  Deguisi.  It  is  a  lake  lying  between  two 
ranges  of  mountains,  which  enclose  it  on  the  east  and 
the  west ;  on  the  north  it  receives  the  Jordan  from 
the  plain  of  Jericho  ;  while,  on  the  south,  it  is  equally 
open,  its  margin  being  the  plain  already  described ; 
and  yet  it  has  no  outlet  for  its  waters.  Reland, 
Pococke,  and  other  travellers,  have  supposed  that  it 
must  throw  off  its  superfluous  waters  by  some  sub- 
terraneous channel ;  but,  although  it  has  been  calcu- 
lated that  the  Jordan  daily  discharges  into  it  6,090,000 
tons  of  water,  besides  what  it  receives  from  the  Arnon 
and  several  smaller  streams,  it  is  now  known,  that 
the  loss  by  evaporation  is  adequate  to  explain  the 
absorption  of  the  waters.  T  Its  occasional  rise  and 

«  Deut.  iii.  17 ;  iv.  49.  Num.  xxxiv.  3.  Josh.  xv.  5.  Ezek.  xlvii. 
18.  Joel  ii.  20. 

t "  For,  provided  the  Dead  Sea  should  be,  according  to  the 
general  computation,  seventy-two  milei  long  and  eighteen  broad. 


THE  HOLY   LAND.  205 

fall  at  certain  seasons,  is  doubtless  owing  to  the 
greater  or  less  volume  which  the  Jordan  and  the 
other  streams  bring  down  from  the  mountains.  Po- 
cocke  noticed  the  evident  effect  of  recent  inundations 
of  the  sea,  on  trees  which  had  been  killed  by  the  salt- 
water. At  such  seasons  it  spreads  itself  into  what 
Captain  Mangles  describes  as  the  backwater.  The 
high-water  mark,  at  the  period  of  his  visit,  (the 
beginning  of  June,)  was  a  mile  distant  from  the 
water's  edge.  The  backwater,  however,  is  never 
quite  dry.  This  periodical  rise  and  fall  may  possibly 
explain,  in  some  degree,  the  different  accounts  which 
have  been  given  of  the  extent  of  the  lake.  Pliny 
makes  it  100  miles  long,  twenty-five  miles  broad  in 
the  widest  part,  and  six  where  it  is  narrowest.  Jose- 
phus  states,  that  it  is  seventy-two  miles  and  a  half 
long,  by  eighteen  miles  and  three  quarters  broad; 
with  which  the  account  given  by  Diodorus  Siculus 
very  nearly  agrees.  Reckoning  the  stadium  as  equal 
to  our  furlong,  his  statement  would  make  it  above 
seventy-two  miles  in  length  and  nearly  nineteen  in 
breadth.*  Whereas,  the  observations  taken  by  Mr. 
Bankes  and  his  companions,  from  several  elevated 
heights,  enabled  them,  they  say,  to  ascertain  that  the 
utmost  extent  of  the  lake,  including  the  backwater, 
does  not  exceed  thirty  miles.  Yet  the  ancients  were 


then,  by  allowing,  according  to  Dr.  Halley's  ob«ervation,  6914 
tons  of  vapour  for  every  square  mile,  there  will  be  drawn  up 
every  day  above  8,963,000  tons."— SHAW'S  Trawlt,  folio,  p. 
574. 

*  Adopting  a  different  estimate  of  the  ttadium  from  Dr.  E.  D. 
Clarke,  Dr.  Pococke  makes  Diodorus  say,  that  it  is  only  sixty- 
two  miles  and  a  half  long,  and  seven  and  a  half  broad ;  which  lie 
thought  near  the  truth.  But  he  judged  only  by  its  appearance  to 
the  eye. 

PART  II.  K 


206  PALESTINE;  OB, 

well  acquainted  with  the  sea.  Josephus,  Julius  Afri- 
canus,  and  Pausanias  describe  it  from  their  own 
ocular  evidence.  Are  we  to  conclude  that  the  lake 
lias  contracted  its  dimensions,  so  as  to  be  only  half 
its  ancient  length  ?  Supposing  any  change  to  have 
taken  place  in  the  depth  of  its  basin,  in  the  lapse  of 
ages,  during  which  the  bituminous  stores  contained 
in  the  subterranean  chambers  of  the  abyss  have  been 
in  a  process  of  decomposition, — this  is  not  impossible. 
For,  as  the  whole  of  the  plain  extending  from  the 
backwater  to  the  sandy  wall  which  traverses  the 
Ghor,  is  a  flat,  on  a  level  with  the  sea,  it  is  extremely 
probable  that  the  waters  anciently  covered  that  whole 
extent ;  and  a  comparatively  slight  subsidence  of  the 
sea  would  convert  the  shallow  into  a  marshy,  and  at 
length  arid,  plain.  This  supposition  would  not,  in- 
deed, according  to  Captain  Irby's  estimate  of  the 
distance  of  the  cliff,  add  more  than  eight  or  ten  miles 
of  length  to  the  lake ;  but  it  would  at  least  lessen 
the  discrepancy  between  the  conflicting  authorities. 
Even  if  the  whole  of  the  lake  should  prove  to  be  a 
shallow,  the  diminution  of  its  waters  might  be  ac- 
counted for  by  changes  in  the  course  of  the  torrents, 
or  in  the  volume  of  water  which  formerly  supplied  its 
constant  waste  by  evaporation.  It  is  probable,  how- 
ever, that,  in  the  low  estimation  of  its  length,  suffi- 
cient allowance  has  not  been  made  for  its  winding  or 
curved  direction.  Pococke  says,  it  did  not  appear  to 
him  above  a  league  broad ;  and  Mr.  Jolliffe  thought  the 
expanse  could  not  exceed  five  or  six  miles  in  breadth ; 
but  both  speak  of  its  northern  extremity,  where  it 
ends  in  a  sort  of  bay.  As  it  advances  southwardly, 
it  increases  in  breadth,  assuming  the  form  of  a  curve, 
or,  according  to  Chateaubriand,  the  shape  of  a  bow. 
Its  course  is  visible  from  the  northern  shore  only  for 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  207 

about  ten  or  fifteen  miles,  in  a  S.S.E.  direction,  dis- 
appearing in  a  curve  towards  the  East. 

The  Jordan,  at  its  embouchure,  is  deep  and  rapid, 
rolling  a  volume  of  waters  from  two  to  three  hundred 
feet  in  width,  with  a  current  so  violent,  that  an  expert 
swimmer,  who  attended  Mr.  Jolliffe,  found  it  im- 
practicable to  cross  it.  Dr.  Shaw  describes  it,  indeed, 
as  not  more  than  thirty  yards  broad,  and  Maundrell, 
as  only  about  twenty  yards  over ;  but  they  speak  of  its 
appearance  at  some  distance  from  the  mouth,  where 
the  pilgrims  bathe.  The  former  affirms  that  it  runs 
about  two  miles  an  hour, — while  the  latter  speaks  of 
its  violent  and  turbid  current,  "  too  rapid  to  be  swam 
against."  It  was  the  old  opinion,  that  the  waters  of 
the  river  passed  through  the  lake  without  mingling 
with  it ;  and  "  I  thought  I  saw,"  says  Pococke,  "  the 
stream  of  a  different  colour."  The  fact  is,  that  the 
water  of  the  lake  is  clear  and  of  the  colour  of  the  sea, 
while  that  of  the  Jordan  is  muddy,  and  of  course  dis- 
colours the  lake  with  its  yellow  current. 

The  specific  gravity  of  the  waters  of  the  Dead  Sea 
is  supposed  to  have  been  much  exaggerated  by  the 
ancient  writers,  but  their  statements  are  now  proved 
to  be  by  no  means  very  wide  of  the  truth.  Pliny 
says,  that  no  living  bodies  would  sink  in  it ;  and 
Strabo,  that  persons  who  went  into  it  were  borne  up 
to  their  middle.  Josephus  states,  that  Vespasian  tried 
the  experiment,  by  ordering  some  persons  who  could 
not  swim,  to  be  thrown  into  the  water  with  their 
hands  tied  behind  them,  and  that  they  all  floated, 
as  if  impelled  upwards  by  a  subterranean  current. 
Maundrell  says;  "  Being  willing  to  make  an  experi- 
ment of  its  strength,  I  went  into  it,  and  found  it 
bore  up  my  body  in  swimming  with  an  uncommon 
force.  But  as  for  that  relation  of  some  authors,  that 


208  PALESTINE;  OR, 

men  wading  into  it  were  buoyed  up  to  the  top  as 
soon  as  they  go  as  deep  as  the  navel,  I  found  it 
by  experiment  not  true."  Pococke,  however,  says : 
"  I  was  much  pleased  with  what  I  observed  of  this 
extraordinary  water,  and  stayed  in  it  near  a  quarter 
of  an  hour.  I  found  I  could  lay  on  it  in  any  posture, 
without  motion,  and  without  sinking.  It  bore  me  up 
in  such  a  manner,  that,  when  I  struck  in  swimming, 
my  legs  were  above  the  water,  and  I  found  it  diffi- 
cult to  recover  my  feet.  I  did  not  care  to  venture 
where  it  was  deep,  though  these  effects  would  pro- 
bably have  been  more  remarkable  further  in.  They 
have  a  notion  that  if  any  one  attempted  to  swim  over, 
it  would  burn  up  the  body ;  and  they  say  the  same 
of  boats,  for  there  are  none  on  the  lake.*'  Van  Eg- 
mont  and  Heyman  state,  that,  on  swimming  to  some 
distance  from  the  shore,  they  found  themselves,  to 
their  great  surprise,  lifted  up  by  the  water.  "  When 
I  had  swam  to  some  distance,  I  endeavoured  to  sink 
perpendicularly  to  the  bottom,  but  could  not ;  for  the 
water  kept  me  continually  up,  and  would  certainly 
have  thrown  me  upon  my  face,  had  I  not  put  forth 
all  the  strength  I  was  master  of,  to  keep  myself  in 
a  perpendicular  posture ;  so  that  I  walked  in  the  sea 
as  if  I  had  trod  on  firm  ground,  without  having  oc- 
casion to  make  any  of  the  motions  necessary  in  tread- 
ing fresh  water ;  and  when  I  was  swimming,  I  was 
obliged  to  keep  my  legs  the  greatest  part  of  the  time 
out  of  the  water.  My  fellow-traveller  was  agreeably 
surprised  to  find  that  he  could  swim  here,  having 
never  learned.  But  his  case  and  mine  proceeded  from 
the  gravity  of  the  water,  as  this  certainly  does  from 
the  extraordinary  quantity  of  salt  in  it."  Mr.  Jolliffe 
says,  he  found  it  very  little  more  buoyant  than  other 
seas,  but  he  did  not  go  out  of  his  depth.  "  The 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  209 

descent  of  the  beach,"  he  says,  "  is  so  gently  gradual, 
that  I  must  have  waded  above  a  hundred  yards  to  get 
completely  out  of  my  depth,  and  the  impatience  of  the 
Arabians  would  not  allow  of  time  sufficient  for  this." 
Captain  Mangles  says :  "  The  water  is  as  bitter  and 
as  buoyant  as  the  people  have  reported.  Those  of  our 
party  who  could  not  swim,  floated  on  its  surface  like 
corks.  On  dipping  the  head  in,  the  eyes  smarted 
dreadfully."  The  question  of  its  specific  gravity,  in- 
deed,  has  been  set  to  rest  by  the  chemical  analysis  of 
the  waters  made  by  Dr.  Marcet,  and  published  in  the 
London  Philosophical  Transactions  for  1807.  In  1778, 
Messrs.  Lavoisier,  Macquer,  and  Le  Sage  had  con- 
cluded, by  experiment,  that  a  hundred  pounds  of  the 
water  contain  forty-five  pounds  six  ounces  of  salt ; 
that  is,  six  pounds  four  ounces  of  common  marine  salt, 
and  thirty-eight  pounds  two  ounces  of  marine  salt 
with  an  earthy  base.  But  Dr.  Marcet's  more  accu- 
rate analysis  has  determined  the  specific  gravity  to  be 
1,211,  (that  of  fresh  water  being  1000,)  a  degree  of 
density  not  to  be  met  with  in  any  other  natural 
water ;  and  it  holds  in  solution  the  following  salts,  in 
the  stated  proportions  to  100  grains  of  the  water : 

Muriate  of  lime 3,920  grains. 

Muriate  of  magnesia 10,246 

Muriate  of  soda 10,360 

Sulphate  of  lime 0,054 

24,580 

So  that  the  water  r>f  the  lake  contains  about  one- 
fourth  of  its  weight  of  salts,  supposed  in  a  state  of 
perfect  desiccation  ;  or  if  they  be  desiccated  at  the 
temperature  of  180°  on  Fahrenheit's  scale,  they  will 
amount  to  forty-one  per  cent,  of  the  water.  Its  other 
general  properties  are,  that,  1.  As  stated  by  all  travel- 
N2 


210  PALESTINE;  OH, 

]ers,  it  is  perfectly  transparent.  2.  Its  taste  is  ex. 
tremely  bitter,  saline,  and  pungent.  3.  Re-agents 
demonstrate  in  it  the  presence  of  the  marine  and 
sulphuric  acids.  4.  It  contains  no  alumine.  5.  It  w 
not  saturated  with  common  salt.  6.  It  did  not  change 
the  colours  of  the  infusions  commonly  used  to  ascer- 
tain the  prevalence  of  an  acid  or  an  alkali,  such  as 
litmus,  violet,  and  turmeric. 

The  water  of  the  Jordan,  when  analysed,  exhibited 
results  strikingly  dissimilar.  It  is  soft,  has  no  saline 
taste,  and  500  grains  evaporated  at  200°,  left  0,8  grains 
of  dry  residue  ;  that  is,  only  ^  part  of  the  propor- 
tion of  solid  matter  that  is  contained  in  the  water  of 
the  lake.  Carbonate  of  lime  was  detected  in  the  water 
of  the  river,  of  which  there  is  no  trace  in  the  salt 
water ;  and  two  other  precipitates  were  produced,  one 
of  them  magnesian.  It  is  impossible  to  account  for 
this  remarkable  difference,  on  any  other  principle  than 
that  which  refers  the  origin  of  the  lake  to  the  convul- 
sion recorded  in  the  Scripture  narrative. 

With  regard  to  the  agents  employed  in  this  cata- 
strophe, there  might  seem  reason  to  suppose  that  vol- 
canic phenomena  had  some  share  in  producing  it ;  but 
Chateaubriand's  remark  is  deserving  of  attention.  "  I 
cannot,"  he  says,  "  coincide  in  opinion  with  those 
who  suppose  the  Dead  Sea  to  be  the  crater  of  a  vol- 
cano. I  have  seen  Vesuvius,  Solfatara,  Monte  Nuovo 
in  the  lake  of  Fusino,  the  peak  of  the  Azores,  the 
Mamalif  opposite  to  Carthage,  the  extinguished  vol- 
canoes of  Auvergne  ;  and  remarked  in  all  of  them  the 
same  characters  ;  that  is  to  say,  mountains  excavated 
in  the  form  of  a  tunnel,  lava,  and  ashes,  which  ex- 
hibited incontestible  proofs  of  the  agency  of  fire." 
After  noticing  the  very  different  shape  and  position 
of  the  Dead  Sea,  he  adds :  "  Bitumen,  warm  springs, 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  211 

and  phosphoric  stones  are  found,  it  is  true,  in  the 
mountains  of  Arabia ;  but  then,  the  presence  of  hot 
springs,  sulphur,  and  asphaltos  is  not  sufficient  to 
attest  the  anterior  existence  of  a  volcano."*  The 
learned  Frenchman  inclines  to  adopt  the  idea  of  Pro- 
fessors Michaelis  and  Busching,  that  Sodom  and  Go- 
morrah were  built  upon  a  mine  of  bitumen  ;  that 
lightning  kindled  the  combustible  mass,  and  that 
the  cities  sank  in  the  subterraneous  conflagration.  M. 
Malte  Brun  ingeniously  suggests,  that  the  cities  might 
themselves  have  been  built  of  bituminous  stones,  and 
thus  have  been  set  in  flames  by  the  fire  of  heaven. 
We  learn,  from  the  Mosaic  account,  that  the  Vale 
of  Siddim,  which  is  now  occupied  by  the  Dead  Sea, 
was  full  of  "  slime  pits,"  or  pits  of  bitumen. -j-  Po- 
cocke  says  :  "  It  is  observed,  that  the  bitumen  floats 
on  the  water,  and  comes  ashore  after  windy  weather; 
the  Arabs  gather  it  up,  and  it  serves  as  pitch  for  all 
uses,  goes  into  the  composition  of  medicines,  J  and  is 
thought  to  have  been  a  very  great  ingredient  in  the 
bitumen  used  in  embalming  the  bodies  in  Egypt :  § 
it  has  been  much  used  for  cerecloths,  and  has  an  ill 
smell  when  burnt.  It  is  probable  that  there  are  sub- 
terraneous fires,  that  throw  up  this  bitumen  at  the 
bottom  of  the  sea,  where  it  may  form  itself  into  a 
mass,  which  may  be  broken  by  the  motion  of  the 
water  occasioned  by  high  winds ;  and  it  is  very  re- 

*  Travels  in  Greece,  &c.  vol.  i.  pp.  413,  414. 

t  Gen.  xiv.  3,  10. 

$  Dr.  Clarke  states,  tha^  the  monks  of  St.  Salvador  (the  Latin 
convent  of  Jerusalem)  keep  the  water  of  the  Dead  Sea  in  jars, 
together  with  the  bitumen  of  the  same  lake,  among  the  articles 
of  their  pharmacy,  both  being  alike  esteemed  for  their  medicinal 
properties.  (Vol.  iv.  p.  308.) 

§  This  is  expressly  affirmed  by  Pliny. 


212  PALESTINE;  OR, 

markable,  that  the  stone  called  the  stone  of  Moses 
found  about  two  or  three  leagues  from  the  sea,  which 
burns  like  a  coal,  and  turns  only  to  a  white  stone,  and 
not  to  ashes,  has  the  same  smell,  when  burnt,  as  this 
pitch ;  so  that  it  is  probable,  a  stratum  of  the  stone 
under  the  Dead  Sea  is  one  part  of  the  matter  that 
feeds  the  subterraneous  fires,  and  that  this  bitumen 
boils  up  out  of  it." 

To  give  force  to  this  last  conjecture,  however,  it 
would  be  requisite  to  ascertain,  whether  bitumen  is 
capable  of  being  detached  from  this  stone,  in  a  liquid 
state,  by  the  action  of  fire.  The  stone  in  question  is 
the  black  fetid  limestone,  used  at  Jerusalem  in  the 
manufacture  of  rosaries  and  amulets,  and  worn  as  a 
charm  against  the  plague.*  The  effluvia  which  it 
emits  on  friction,  is  owing  to  a  strong  impregnation 
of  sulphuretted  hydrogen.  If  the  buildings  were  con- 
structed  of  materials  of  this  description,  with  quarries 
of  which  the  neighbouring  mountains  abound,  they 
would  be  easily  susceptible  of  ignition  by  lightning. 
The  Scriptural  account,  however,  is  explicit,  that "  the 
Lord  rained  upon  Sodom  and  upon  Gomorrah  brim- 
stone and  fire  from  heaven  ;"-f-  which  we  may  safely 
interpret  as  implying  a  shower  of  inflamed  sulphur, 
or  nitre.  At  the  same  time  it  is  evident,  that  the 
whole  plain  underwent  a  simultaneous  convulsion, 
which  seems  referrible  to  the  consequences  of  a  bi- 
tuminous explosion.  In  perfect  accordance  with  this 

*  Hasselquist  describes  this  mineral  as  "  quartz  stones  in  the 
form  of  slate  —  one  of  the  rarest  natural  curiosities,"  he  says, 
"  I  got  in  my  travels.  If  it  was  burnt,  it  smelt  like  bitumen> 
which  proves  that  it  had  its  origin  from  it,  like  all  the  slate 
of  this  country."—  Voyages  and  Travels,  p.  131.  See  Dr.  Clarke's 
Geological  Authorities,  vol.  iv.  p.  307« 

|  Gen.  xix.  24. 


THE  HOLY   LAND.  213 

view  of  the  catastrophe,  we  find  the  very  materials, 
as  it  were,  of  this  awful  visitation  still  at  hand  in  the 
neighbouring  hills;  from  which  they  might  have  been 
poured  down  by  the  agency  of  a  thunder-storm,  with- 
out excluding  a  supernatural  cause  from  the  expla- 
nation of  the  phenomena.  Captains  Irby  and  Man- 
gles collected,  on  the  southern  coast,  lumps  of  nitre 
and  fine  sulphur,  from  the  size  of  a  nutmeg  up  to  that 
of  a  small  hen's  egg,  which,  it  was  evident  from  their 
situation,  had  been  brought  down  by  the  rain :  "  their 
great  deposite  must  be  sought  for,"  they  say,  "  in 
the  cliff." 

Dr.  Shaw  supposes  that  the  bitumen,  as  it  rises,  :s 
accompanied  with  sulphur,  "  inasmuch  as  both  of  them 
are  found  promiscuously  upon  the  wash  of  the  shore." 
But  his  conjecture  is  not  founded  on  observation.  The 
statement  he  gives,  is  founded  on  hearsay  evidence ; 
we  cannot,  therefore,  admit  him  as  (in  this  case)  an 
original  authority.  "  I  was  informed,"  he  says,  "  that 
the  bitumen,  for  which  this  lake  hath  been  always  re- 
markable, is  raised,  at  certain  times,  from  the  bottom, 
in  large  hemispheres ;  which,  as  soon  as  they  touch 
the  surface,  and  so  are  acted  upon  by  the  external  air, 
burst  at  once  with  great  smoke  and  noise,  like  the 
pulvis  fulminans  of  the  chemists,  and  disperse  them- 
selves round  about  in  a  thousand  pieces.  But  this 
happens  only  near  the  shore  ;  for,  in  greater  depths, 
the  eruptions  are  supposed  to  discover  themselves  only 
in  such  columns  of  smoke  as  are  now  and  then  ob- 
served to  arise  from  the  lake."  *  Chateaubriand  speaks 
of  the  puffs  of  smoke  '  which  announce  or  follow  the 
emersion  of  asphaltos,  and  of  fogs  that  are  really  un- 
wholesome like  all  other  fogs."  These  he  considers 

*  Travels,  folio,  p.  374. 


214  PALESTINE  ;    OR, 

as  the  supposed  pestilential  vapours  said  to  arise  from 
the  bosom  of  the  lake.  But  it  admits  of  question,  in 
the  deficiency  of  more  specific  information,  whether 
what  has  been  taken  for  columns  of  smoke,  may  not 
be  the  effect  of  evaporation.*  From  the  very  interest- 
ing account  furnished  by  Captains  Irby  and  Mangles, 
we  obtain  some  further  particulars  of  this  astonishing 
scene,  which  may  seem  to  justify  the  conjecture. 

On  entering  upon  the  plain  to  the  southward  of  the 
lake,  exclusive  of  the  saline  appearance  left  by  the 
retiring  of  the  waters,  they  noticed  lying  on  the 
ground,  several  large  fragments  of  rock-salt,  which  led 
them  to  examine  the  hill  on  the  right  of  the  ravine  by 
which  they  had  descended.  This  has  been  described 
as  composed  partly  of  salt,  partly  of  hardened  sand  : 
the  salt  in  many  instances  was  hanging  from  the  cliffs, 
in  clear  perpendicular  points  resembling  icicles.  They 
observed  also  strata  of  salt  of  considerable  thickness, 
having  very  little  sand  mixed  with  it,  generally  in  per- 
pendicular lines.  During  the  rainy  season,  the  tor- 
rents apparently  bring  down  immense  masses  of  this 
mineral.  Strabo  mentions,  that  to  the  southward  of 
the  Dead  Sea  there  are  towns  and  cities  built  entirely 
of  salt ;  and  "  although,"  adds  the  writer,  "  such  an 
account  seems  strange,  yet,  when  we  contemplated  the 
scene  before  us,  it  did  not  seem  improbable.  The 
sea  had  thrown  up  at  high -water  mark  a  quantity  of 
wood,  with  which  the  travellers  attempted  to  make  a 
fire,  in  order  to  bake  some  bread ;  but  it  was  so  im- 
pregnated with  salt,  that  all  their  efforts  were  un- 


*  "  As  soon  as  we  came  to  the  pare,  which  commands  an  ex- 
tensive prospect  of  the  Dead  Sea,  we  could  observe  the  effect  of 
the  evaporation  arising  from  it  in  broad  transparent  columns  of 
vapour,  not  unlike  water-spouts  in  appearance,  but  very  much 
larger."— IRBY  and  MANGLES,  p.  447- 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  215 

availing.  The  track,  after  leaving  the  salt  hill,  led 
across  the  barren  flats  of  the  backwater  —  then  left 
partially  dry  by  the  effects  of  evaporation.  They 
passed  six  drains  running  into  the  sea :  some  were 
wet,  and  still  draining  the  dreary  level  which  they 
intersected  ;  others  were  dry.  These  had  a  strong 
marshy  smell,  similar  to  what  is  perceivable  on  most 
of  the  muddy  flats  in  salt-water  harbours,  but  by 
no  means  more  unpleasant.  The  water  on  the  main 
body  of  the  lake  is  perfectly  free  from  any  smell. 
Besides  these  salt-water  drains,  several  little  torrents 
descending  from  the  eastern  mountains  find  their  way 
into  the  sea.  At  about  half  an  hour  from  the  first 
drain,  and  three  hours  from  the  western  cliff  of  the 
Ghor,  is  the  Nahr-el-Hussan,  or  Horse  River ;  which, 
traversing  the  plain  ia  a  N.N.W.  direction,  falls  into 
the  backwater  at  its  southern  edge.  Three  hours 
further,  keeping  the  line  of  the  coast,  the  Nahr-el- 
Assel,  or  Honey  River,  falls  into  its  eastern  border. 
From  thence,  at  four  hours'  distance,  the  Nahr-el- 
Derrah  (or  Darah)  crossing  the  valley  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  backwater,  runs  northward  into  a  bay  of 
the  Dead  Sea,  formed  by  an  elevated  tongue  of  land, 
extending  some  miles  into  the  lake :  between  which 
and  its  western  shore  is  the  strait  or  outlet  into  the 
backwater.  At  the  narrowest  part  of  this  strait, 
where  a  low  promontory  projects  from  the  opposite  or 
western  shore,  is  a  ford,  which  the  natives  state  to  be 
at  no  season  impassable :  here  the  route  crosses  which 
is  taken  by  the  caravan  from  Terek.  This  description 
exactly  answers  to  the  concise  account  cited  by  Cha- 
teaubriand from  the  narrative  of  Daniel,  Abbot  of  St. 
Saba,  the  only  person  then  known  to  have  made  the 
tour  of  the  lake.  "  The  Dead  Sea,  at  its  extremity," 
he  says,  "  is  separated  as  it  were  into  two  parts  ;  and 


216  PALESTINE;  OR, 

there  is  a  way  by  which  you  may  walk  across  it,  being 
only  mid-leg  deep, — at  least  in  summer.  The  land  at 
that  point  rises  and  bounds  another  small  lake,  of  a 
circular  or  rather  oval  figure,  surrounded  with  plains 
and  mountains  of  salt." 

In  the  plain  bordering  upon  the  lake  are  high 
rushes,  which  give  way  to  a  variety  of  bushes  and  wild 
plants ;  among  others,  several  species  of  acacia,  the 
dwarf  mimosa,  the  tamarisk,  the  wild  cotton  plant, 
the  doom,  and  the  oschar.  Captain  Mangles  describes 
also  a  very  curious  tree,  which  abounds  here  ;  its  fruit 
resembling  the  currant  in  its  growth,  but  with  the 
colour  of  a  plum ;  having  a  strong  aromatic  taste 
resembling  mustard,  and,  if  taken  in  any  quantity, 
producing  the  same  irritability  in  the  nose  and  eyes. 
The  leaves  have  the  same  pungent  flavour  in  a  less 
degree.  On  the  borders  of  the  Derrah,  they  observed 
another  peculiar  shrub,  its  branches  inclining  down 
wards,  of  a  dull  green,  with  little  or  no  foliage ;  th« 
fruit  about  the  size  of  an  almond  in  its  green  husk, 
and  not  very  dissimilar  in  colour,  but  seamed  or 
ribbed.  When  ripe,  it  becomes  soft  and  juicy,  like  a 
green  gage,  but  the  skin  retains  its  roughness.  It 
contains  a  stone.  The  taste  has  a  sort  of  sweetness, 
mixed  with  a  strong  bitter ;  the  smell  is  sickly  and 
disagreeable.  It  is  said  by  the  natives  to  be  poisonous, 
children  being  reported  to  have  frequently  been  dis- 
ordered, and  even  to  have  died,  after  eating  it.  Near 
the  Nahr-el-Hussan  there  was  plenty  of  corn  grow- 
ing in  the  open  grounds  between  the  bushes.  Pro- 
ceeding along  the  foot  of  the  mountains  which  bound 
the  east  side  of  the  plains,  the  track  is  rugged  and 
barren  in  the  extreme,  presenting  innumerable  frag- 
ments of  red  and  grey  granite,  grey,  red,  and  black 
porphyry,  serpentine,  a  beautiful  black  basalt,  breccia, 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  217 

and  other  kinds  of  stone  from  the  neighbouring  moun- 
tains, scattered  in  all  directions.  The  Nahr-el-Derrali 
waters  a  beautiful  shady  ravine :  its  banks  being 
clothed  in  profusion  with  the  palm,  acacia,  aspiiie,  and 
oleander,  afford  a  refreshing  contrast  to  the  desert 
appearance  of  the  neighbourhood.  The  rocks  above, 
which  are  composed  chiefly  of  a  dark  sand-stone  and 
various  kinds  of  marble,  present  hardly  a  vestige  of 
vegetation.  Near  where  the  Derrah  opens  from  its 
glen  into  the  plain  to  the  northward,  there  is  very 
clearly  to  be  perceived  an  ancient  site.  Stones  that 
have  been  used  in  building,  though  for  the  most  part 
unhewn,  with  bricks  and  fragments  of  pottery,  are 
strewed  over  the  uneven  surface,  for  at  least  half 
a  mile  quite  down  to  the  plain.  Captain  Mangles 
noticed  a  column,  and  a  pretty  specimen  of  antique 
variegated  glass.  The  hare  and  the  partridge  of  the 
desert,  or  quail,  abound  in  the  thickets,  and  there 
were  observed  frequent  tracks  of  the  wild  boar.  Se- 
veral villages  of  Ghorneys,  a  sort  of  Mahommedan 
Pariahs,  are  scattered  about  the  plains.  Near  the  sea, 
the  vegetation  consists  chiefly  of  the  tamarisk  and  the 
cane,  so  high  and  so  thickly  set  as  to  render  many 
parts  wholly  impassable.  The  rotten  and  marshy 
ground,  during  the  winter  season  especially,  renders 
the  passage  very  difficult.  The  foliage  has  a  salt  dew 
hanging  on  it,  which  is  greasy  to  the  touch.  A  nar- 
row, pebbly  beach  separates  the  jungle  from  the  sea, 
which  encroaches  more  or  less  on  the  shore,  according 
to  the  season.  The  highest  point  which  it  reaches,  is 
marked  by  an  extensive  deposite  of  timber  of  all  sizes. 
It  dries  off  into  shallows  and  small  pools,  which  depo- 
site a  salt  as  fine  and  well  bleached,  in  some  instances, 
as  that  in  regular  salt-pans.  The  travellers  found  seve- 
ral of  the  natives  peeling  off  a  solid  layer  of  salt,  seve- 

PART  II.  O 


.218  PALESTINE;  OR, 

ral  inches  thick,  with  which  they  loaded  their  asses.  In 
some  parts  the-ground  is  treacherous,  being  only  glazed 
over  with  a  thin  crust,  not  unlike  the  sediment  of  mud 
which  is  in  some  parts  left  by  the  Nile  ;  and  towards 
the  strait,  where  the  water,  being  more  shallow,  re- 
tires rapidly,  a  considerable  level  is  left,  encrusted 
with  a  salt  that  is  but  half  dried  and  consolidated, 
appearing  like  ice  in  the  commencement  of  a  thaw, 
and  giving  way  nearly  ancle  deep.  At  the  northern- 
most  point  of  the  cape,  some  rotten  branches  were 
found  standing  up,  so  encrusted  with  salt  that  they 
had  the  appearance  of  fine  white  coral. 

It  was  long  a  received  tradition,  that  no  living 
thing  could  pass  over  this  lake  without  being  suffo- 
cated by  the  vapours,  and  that  no  fish  could  endure 
the  deadly  waters.  Captains  Irby  and  Mangles  found 
on  the  shores  a  great  number  of  dead  locusts,  which 
might  almost  seem,  they  remark,  to  lend  some  coun- 
tenance to  the  tale,  were  it  not  a  spectacle  sufficiently 
common  upon  other  shores,  as  about  El  Arisch,  and  in 
Sicily.  These,  however,  had  not  become  putrid,  nor 
had  they  any  smell,  as  when  cast  up  by  any  other  sea, 
being  completely  penetrated  and  encrusted  with  salt  ; 
and  they  had  lost  their  colour.  Of  the  fabulous  nature 
of  one  part  of  the  tradition,  the  travellers  had  ocular 
demonstration  ;  first,  in  a  pair  of  Egyptian  geese,  and 
afterwards  in  a  flight  of  pigeons,  which  passed  over 
the  sea.*  And  Maundrell  saw  several  birds,  he  does 

*  Van  Egnaont  and  Heyman  carried  with  them  two  sparrows, 
for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  alleged  fact,  and  having 
plucked  out  a  few  feathers  from  each  wing,  so  that  they  could  not 
fly  long,  set  them  at  liberty.  "  After  a  short  flight,  they  fell  into, 
or  rather  upon  the  sea ;  hut  so  far  were  they  from  dying  there,  that 
they  both  got  safe  ashore ;  though,  had  there  been  any  such  noxioua 
effluvia,  they  were  long  enough  on  the  surface  of  the  water  to  have 
felt  its  deleterious  effect." 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  219 

not  say  of  what  species,  flying  about  and  over  the  sea, 
without  any  visible  harm.  The  latter  part  also  of  the 
report,  he  adds,  "  I  have  some  reason  to  suspect  as 
false  ;  having  observed  among  the  pebbles  on  the  shore 
two  or  three  shells  of  fish,  resembling  oyster-shells. 
These  were  cast  up  by  the  waves,  at  two  hours'  dis- 
tance from  the  mouth  of  the  Jordan  ;  which  I  mention, 
lest  it  should  be  suspected  that  they  might  be  brought 
into  the  sea  that  way."  *  Seetzen,  too,  speaks  of 
some  snail-shells  he  found  on  the  coast,  as  proving 
that  there  are  living  creatures  in  the  lake.  And 
Captain  Irby  and  his  companions  found,  besides 
snail-shells,  a  small  spiral  species.  But  these  were 
invariably  without  fish,  and  had  not  apparently  been 
occupied  for  a  long  time.  Pococke  justly  remarks, 
that  it  is  not  probable  that  the  fresh-water  fish 
of  the  Jordan  could  live  in  the  salt-water ;  but  he 
was  told  that  a  monk  had  seen  fish  caught  in  the 
lake — a  most  indubitable  testimony  !  M.  Chateau, 
briand,  moreover,  heard  at  midnight  a  noise  upon 
the  lake,  which,  he  was  told  by  the  Bethlehemites, 
proceeded  from  legions  of  small  fish  which  come 
and  leap  about  on  the  shore — doubtless  seeking 
to  be  delivered  from  the  pestilential  waters.  This 
was,  we  apprehend,  nothing  more  than  a  hoax  upon 
the  learned  Frenchman.  Hitherto,  we  are  without 
any  satisfactory  evidence  that  the  lake  contains  any 
living  creatures.  Captain  Mangles  mentions  it  as 
remarkable,  how  few  living  things,  whether  birds, 
insects,  or  reptiles,  are  to  be  seen  on  its  shores.  The 
want  of  vegetable  matter  and  of  fresh  water  is  a  very 
sufficient  reason. 

*  Hasselquist  says :  "  The  Arabs  say,  there  are  no  fish  in  this 
sea;  however,  I  doubt  the  truth  of  this,  as  there  are  shell-fish" 
Con  the  shorej. 


220  PALESTINE;    OR, 

M.  Seetzen  imagined  that  he  had  discovered  an 
island  of  some  extent  in  the  Dead  Sea  ;  but  this  our 
English  travellers  ascertained  beyond  all  doubt  to 
have  no  existence.  One  evening,  however,  about 
sunset,  they  were  themselves  deceived  by  a  dark  sha- 
dow on  the  waters,  which  assumed  so  exactly  the 
appearance  of  an  island,  that,  even  after  looking  at  it 
through  a  telescope,  they  concluded  it  to  be  one.  "  It 
is  not  the  only  time,"  they  say,  "  that  such  a  pheno- 
menon has  presented  itself  to  us :  in  two  instances, 
looking  up  the  sea  from  its  southern  extremity,  we 
saw  it  apparently  closed  by  a  low  dark  line,  like  a  bar 
of  sand,  to  the  northward  ;  and  on  another  occasion, 
two  small  islands  seemed  to  present  themselves  be- 
tween a  long  sharp  promontory  on  the  western  shore." 
They  profess  themselves  at  a  loss  to  account  for  these 
appearances,  which  they  suppose  to  be  what  deceived 
M.  Seetzen  ;  but  they  suggest  it  as  just  possible,  that 
he  might  see  "  one  of  those  temporary  islands  of 
bitumen  which  Pliny  describes  as  being  several  acres 
in  extent."  Is  it  not  possible  that  M.  Seetzen's  island, 
and  the  appearances  observed  by  the  English  travel- 
lers, were  shallows  ?  —  This  suggests  an  interesting 
inquiry. 

Chateaubriand  says  :  "  Several  travellers,  and, 
among  others,  Troilo  and  D'Arvieux,  assert,  that 
they  remarked  fragments  of  walls  and  palaces  in  the 
Dead  Sea.  This  statement  seems  to  be  confirmed  by 
Maundrell  and  Father  Nau.  The  ancients  speak 
more  positively  on  this  subject.  Josephus,  employing 
a  poetic  expression,  says,  that  he  perceived  on  the 
banks  of  the  lake,  the  shades  of  the  overwhelmed 
cities.  Strabo  gives  a  circumference  of  sixty  stadia  to 
the  ruins  of  Sodom,  which  are  mentioned  also  by 
Tacitus.  I  know  not  whether  they  still  exist ;  but,  as 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  22 1 

the  lake  rises  and  falls  at  certain  seasons,  it  is  possible 
that  it  may  alternately  cover  and  expose  the  skeletons 
of  the  reprobate  cities."  *  Mr.  Jolliffe  mentions  the 
same  story.  "  We  have  even,"  he  says,  "  heard  it 
asserted  with  confidence,  that  broken  columns  and 
other  architectural  ruins  are  visible  at  certain  seasons, 
when  the  water  is  much  retired  below  its  usual  level ; 
but  of  this  statement,  our  informers,  when  closely 
pressed,  could  not  adduce  any  satisfactory  confirma- 
tion." We  are  afraid  that,  notwithstanding  the 
authority  of  Strabo,  we  must  class  this  legend  with  the 
dreams  of  imagination ;  or  perhaps  its  origin  may  be 
referred  to  some  such  optical  delusion  as  led  to  the 
mistake  respecting  the  supposed  island.  In  the  travels 
of  Egmont  and  Heyman,  however,  there  is  a  statement 
which  may  throw  some  light  on  the  subject.  They 
say :  "  We  also  saw  here  a  kind  of  jetty  or  prominence, 
which  appears  to  have  been  a  heap  of  stones  from 
time  to  time  thrown  up  by  the  sea ;  but  it  is  a  current 
opinion  here,  that  they  are  part  of  the  ruins  of  one  of 

*  Travels  in  Greece,  &c.  vol.  i.  p.  415.  Maundrell's  alleged 
confirmation  is  worth  little.  "  Being  desirous  to  see  the  remains 
(if  there  were  any)  of  those  cities  anciently  situate  in  this  place, 
and  made  so  dreadful  an  example  of  the  Divine  vengeance,  I  dili- 
gently surveyed  the  waters  as  far  as  my  eye  could  reach  ;  but 
neither  could  I  discern  any  heaps  of  ruins,  nor  any  smoke  ascend- 
ing above  the  surface  of  the  water,  as  is  usually  described  in  the 
writings  and  maps  of  geographers.  But  yet  I  must  not  omit  what 
was  confidently  asserted  to  me  by  the  father  guardian  and  the  pro- 
curator of  Jerusalem,  both  men  in  years,  and  seemingly  not  desti- 
tute either  of  sense  or  probity,  viz.  that  they  had  once  actually 
seen  one  of  these  ruins ;  that  it  was  so  near  the  shore,  and  the 
water  so  shallow  at  that  time,  that  they,  together  with  some 
Frenchmen,  went  to  it,  and  found  there  several  pillars  and  other 
fragments  of  buildings.  The  cause  of  our  being  deprived  of  this 
sight,  was,  I  suppose,  the  height  of  the  water."  It  is  not  difficult  to 
perceive,  from  this  dry  remark,  that  our  traveller's  incredulity  was 
not  overcome  by  his  grave  authorities. 


222  PALESTINE;  OR, 

the  towns  which  are  buried  under  it."  The  bare  pos- 
sibility, that  any  wreck  of  the  guilty  cities  should 
be  brought  to  light,  is  sufficient  to  excite  an  intense 
curiosity  to  explore  this  mysterious  flood,  which,  so 
far  as  appears  from  any  records,  no  bark  has  ever 
ploughed,*  no  plummet  ever  sounded.  Should  per- 
mission  ever  be  obtained  from  the  Turks,  to  launch  a 
vessel  on  the  lake,  its  navigation,  if  practicable,  would 
probably  lead  to  some  interesting  results. 

There  yet  remains  to  be  noticed,  in  connexion  with 
this  subject,  the  far-famed  apples 

"  which  grew 
Near  that  bituminous  lake  where  Sodom  stood." 

Tacitus  and  Josephus  both  mention  this  fruit  as  bean- 
tiful  to  the  eye,  but  crumbling,  at  the  touch,  to  dust 
and  bitter  ashes.-f  Reland,  Maundrell,  and  Shaw,  all 
express  themselves  as  sceptical  concerning  its  existence. 
But  none  of  them  explored  the  borders  of  the  lake 
sufficiently  to  entitle  them  to  give  a  decided  opinion  on 
the  subject,  having  only  seen  its  northern  shore. 
Pococke  is  inclined  to  lay  more  stress  on  the  ancient 
testimonies ;  and  he  supposes  the  apples  to  be  pome- 
granates, "  which  having  a  tough,  hard  rind,  and 
being  left  on  the  trees  two  or  three  years,  the  inside 
may  be  dried  to  dust,  and  the  outside  may  remain 
fair."  Hasselquist,  however,  the  pupil  of  Linnaeus, 
pronounces  the  Poma  Sodomitica  to  be  the  fruit  of  the 
Solanum  melongena,  (egg-plant  nightshade,  or  mad- 
apple,)  which  he  states  to  be  found  in  great  abundance 

*  Strabo,  Pliny,  and  Diodorus  Siculus  speak  of  rafts,  composed 
of  interwoven  reeds,  on  which  the  Arabs  used  to  go  to  collect 
wphaltos. 

*  See  also  Wisdom  x.  7- 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  223 

round  Jericho,  in  the  valleys  near  the  Jordan,  and  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  Dead  Sea.  "  It  is  true,"  he 
says,  u  that  these  apples  are  sometimes  full  of  dust, 
but  this  appears  only  when  the  fruit  is  attacked  by 
an  insect  (tenthredo),  which  converts  the  whole  of 
the  inside  into  dust,  leaving  nothing  but  the  rind 
entire,  without  causing  it  to  lose  any  of  its  colour." 
M.  Seetzen,  differing  from  Hasselquist  in  opinion,  sup- 
poses the  apple  of  Sodom  to  be  the  fruit  of  a  species  of 
cotton-tree,  which,  he  was  told,  grows  in  the  plain  of 
El  Ghor,  in  appearance  resembling  a  fig-tree,  and 
known  by  the  name  of  Abeschaez.  The  cotton  is  con- 
tained  in  the  fruit,  which  is  like  a  pomegranate,  but 
has  no  pulp.  Chateaubriand  follows  with  his  discovery 
of  what  he  concludes  to  be  the  long-sought  fruit.  The 
shrub  which  bears  it,  he  says,  grows  two  or  three 
leagues  from  the  mouth  of  the  Jordan :  it  is  thorny, 
with  small  taper  leaves,  and  its  fruit  is  exactly  like  the 
little  Egyptian  lemon  both  in  size  and  colour.  "  Be- 
fore it  is  ripe,  it  is  filled  with  a  corrosive  and  saline 
juice :  when  dried,  it  yields  a  blackish  seed,  which 
may  be  compared  to  ashes,  and  which  in  taste  resembles 
bitter  pepper."  He  gathered  half  a  dozen  of  these 
fruits,  but  has  no  name  for  them,  either  popular  or 
botanical.  Next  comes  Mr.  Jolliffe.  He  found  in  a 
thicket  of  brushwood,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  plain 
of  Jericho,  a  shrub  five  or  six  feet  high,  on  which 
grew  clusters  of  fruit,  about  the  size  of  a  small  apricot, 
of  a  bright  yellow  colour,  "  which,  contrasting  with 
the  delicate  verdure  of  the  foliage,  seemed  like  th« 
union  of  gold  with  emeralds.  Possibly,  when  ripe, 
they  may  crumble  into  dust  upon  any  violent  pressure." 
Those  which  this  gentleman  gathered  did  not  crumble, 
nor  even  retain  the  slightest  mark  of  indenture  from 
the  touch ;  they  would  seem  to  want,  therefore,  the 


224  PALESTINE  ;   OR, 

most  essential  characteristic  of  the  fruit  in  question. 
But  they  were  not  ripe.  This  shrub  is  probably  the 
same  as  that  described  by  Chateaubriand.  Lastly, 
Captains  Irby  and  Mangles  have  no  doubt  that  they 
have  discovered  it  in  the  oskar  plant,  which  they 
noticed  on  the  shores  of  the  Dead  Sea,  grown  to  the 
stature  of  a  tree  ;  its  trunk  measuring,  in  many  in- 
stances, two  feet  or  more  in  circumference,  and  the 
boughs  at  least  fifteen  feet  high.  The  filaments  en- 
dosed  in  the  fruit,  somewhat  resemble  the  down  of  a 
thistle,  and  are  used  by  the  natives  as  a  stuffing 
for  their  cushions  ;  "  they  likewise  twist  them,  like 
thin  rope,  into  matches  for  their  guns,  which,  they 
assured  us,  required  no  application  of  sulphur  to  render 
them  combustible."  This  is  probably  the  same  tree 
that  M.  Seetzen  refers  to.  But  still,  the  correspond- 
ence to  the  ancient  description  is  by  no  means  perfect ; 
there  being  little  resemblance  between  cotton  or  thistle- 
down, and  ashes  or  dust.  M.  Chateaubriand's  golden 
fruit,  full  of  bitter  seed,  comes  the  nearest  to  what  is 
told  us  of  the  deceitful  apple.  If  it  be  any  thing  more 
than  a  fable,  it  must  have  been  a  production  peculiar 
to  this  part  of  Palestine,  or  it  would  not  have  excited 
such  general  attention.  On  this  account,  the  oskar 
and  the  solanum  seem  alike  unentitled  to  the  distinc- 
tion ;  and  for  the  same  reason,  the  pomegranate  must 
altogether  be  excluded  from  consideration.  The  fruit 
of  the  solanum  melongena,  which  belongs  to  the  same 
genus  as  the  common  potatoe,  is  white,  resembling  a 
large  egg,  and  is  said  to  impart  an  agreeable  acid 
flavour  to  soups  and  sauces,  for  the  sake  of  which  it  is 
cultivated  in  the  south  of  Europe.  This  could  hardly 
be  what  Tacitus  and  Josephus  referred  to.  It  is  pos- 
sible, indeed,  that  what  they  describe,  may  have  ori- 
ginated, like  the  oak-galls  in  this  country,  in  the  work 


THE  HOLY   LAND.  225 

of  some  insect :  for  these  remarkable  productions 
sometimes  acquire  a  considerable  size  and  beauty  of 
colour.  Future  travellers  will  be  inexcusable  if  they 
leave  this  question  undecided. 

The  usual  route  by  which  travellers  have  reached 
the  northern  shores  of  the  Dead  Sea,  is  by  Jericho  and 
Santa  Saba.  Before  we  finally  quit  the  land  of  Judea, 
we  must  notice  the  interesting  sites  which  occur,  in 
this  track. 

THE  ROAD  TO  JERICHO  AND  THE  JORDAN. 

SOON  after  leav  '-"•  Bethany,  the  road  descends  the 
other  side  of  Mount  v^ivet,  having  a  valley  to  the 
right :  it  then  leads  for  three  or  four  miles  along  the 
valley,  and  at  length  turns  northward  into  a  moun- 
tainous desert  which, the  ancients  have  fixed  upon  as 
a  fit  place  in  which  to  lay  the  scene  of  our  Lord's 
temptation.  "  A  most  miserable,  dry,  barren  place 
it  is,"  says  Maundrell,  "  consisting  of  high  rocky 
mountains  so  torn  and  disordered,  as  if  the  earth  had 
here  suffered  some  great  convulsion,  in  which  its  very 
bowels  had  been  turned  outward.  On  the  left  hand," 
continues  this  accurate  traveller,  "  looking  down  into 
a  deep  valley,  as  we  passed  along,  we  saw  some  ruins 
of  small  cells  and  cottages,  which  they  told  us  were 
formerly  the  habitations  of  hermits  retiring  hither  for 
penance  and  mortification.  And  certainly,  there  could 
not  be  found  in  the  whole  earth  a  more  comfortless  and 
abandoned  place  for  that  purpose.  From  the  top  of 
these  hills  of  desolation  we  had,  however,  a  delightful 
prospect  of  the  mountains  of  Arabia,  the  Dead  Sea, 
and  the  plain  of  Jericho ;  into  which  last  place  we 
descended,  after  about  five  hours'  march  from  Jeru-. 
salem.  As  soon  as  we  entered  the  plain,  we  turned  up 
o  2 


226  PALESTINE;  OR, 

on  the  left  hand,  and  going  about  one  hour  that  way, 
came  to  the  foot  of  the  Quarantania  ;  which,  they  say, 
is  the  mountain  into  which  the  devil  took  our  blessed 
Saviour,  when  he  tempted  him  with  that  visionary 
scene  of  all  the  kingdoms  and  glories  of  the  world.  It 
is,  as  St.  Matthew  styles  it,  an  exceeding  high  moun- 
tain, and  in  its  ascent  not  only  difficult  but  dangerous. 
It  has  a  small  chapel  at  the  top,  and  another  about 
half  way  up,  founded  upon  a  prominent  part  of  the 
rock.  Near  this  latter  are  several  caves  and  holes  in 
the  side  of  the  mountain,  made  use  of  anciently  by 
hermits,  and  by  some  at  this  day,  for  places  to  keep 
their  Lent  in,  in  imitation  of  that  of  our  blessed 
Saviour.  In  most  of  these  grots  we  found  certain 
Arabs  quartered  with  fire-arms,  who  obstructed  our 
ascent,  demanding  two  hundred  dollars  for  leave  to  go 
up  the  mountains.  So  we  departed  without  further 
trouble,  not  a  little  glad  to  have  so  good  an  excuse  for 
not  climbing  so  dangerous  a  precipice.  * 


*  Hasselquist  attempted  to  reach  the  summit  of  "  the  mountain 
•where  Christ  fasted  and  was  tempted,"  but  found  it  too  perilous 
an  adventure.  "  The  mountain,"  he  says,  "  is  high  and  pointed ; 
and  on  our  left,  as  we  ascended,  was  a  deep  valley,  towards  which 
the  rock  was  perpendicularly  steep.  It  consists  of  a  loose  white 
limestone,  mixed  with  another  that  is  greyish  and  harder.  The 
way  up  to  the  highest  point  is  dangerous  beyond  imagination.  It 
is  narrow,  steep,  and  full  of  rocks  and  stones,  which  obliged  us 
frequently  to  creep  over  them  before  we  could  accomplish  our  de- 
sign. The  difficulty  is  increased  by  the  valley  on  one  side,  which, 
besides  its  terrible  aspect,  is  dangerous  in  case  one  should  slip,  as  in 
such  case  it  would  be  impossible  to  escape  death.  Near  the  top 
of  the  mountain  are  the  ruins  of  an  old  Greek  convent,  which 
shew  how  the  monks  and  anchorites  of  the  old  Christians  lived, 
and  what  places  they  inhabited.  The  Greeks  preserve  the  ancient 
dwellings  of  their  forefathers  in  Mount  Sinai,  Saba,  St.  Elias,  and 
other  places  hi  the  East.  I  went  as  far  up  on  this  terrible  moun- 
tain of  temptation  as  prudence  would  permit ;  but  ventured  not 
to  go  to  the  top,  whither  I  sent  my  servant  to  bring  what  natural 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  227 

"  Turning  down  from  hence  into  the  plain,  we 
passed  by  a  ruined  aqueduct,  and  a  convent  in  the 
same  condition,  and  in  about  a  mile's  riding,  came  to 
the  fountain  of  Elisha;  so  called,  because  miraculously 
purged  from  its  brackishness  by  that  prophet^  at  the 
request  of  the  men  of  Jericho,  2  Kings  ii.  19.  Its 
waters  are  at  present  received  in  a  basin,  about  nine 
or  ten  paces  long,  and  five  or  six  broad;  and  from 
thence  issuing  out  in  good  plenty,  divide  themselves 
into  several  small  streams,  dispersing  their  refreshment 
to  all  the  field  between  this  and  Jericho,  and  rendering 
it  exceeding  fruitful.  Close  by  the  fountain  grows 
a  large  tree  spreading  into  boughs  over  the  water ; 
and  here  in  the  shade  we  took  a  collation,  with  the 
father  guardian,  and  about  thirty  or  forty  friars  more, 
who  went  this  journey  with  us. 

"  At  about  one  third  of  an  hour's  distance  from 
hence  is  Jericho,  at  present  only  a  poor  nasty  village 
of  the  Arabs.  We  were  here  carried  to  see  a  place 
where  Zaccheus's  house  is  said  to  have  stood ;  which 
is  only  an  old  square  stone  building,  on  the  south  side 
of  Jericho." 

According  to  Pococke,  the  mountains  to  which  the 
absurd  name  of  Quarantania  has  been  arbitrarily  given, 
are  the  highest  in  all  Judea ;  and  he  is  probably  cor- 
rect :  they  form  part  of  a  chain  extending  from  Scy- 
thopolis  into  Idumea.  The  fountain  of  Elisha  he 
states  to  be  a  soft  water,  rather  warm  ;  he  found  in  it 
some  small  shell-fish  of  the  turbinated  kind.  Close  by 
the  ruined  aqueduct  are  the  remains  of  a  fine  paved 
way,  with  a  fallen  column,  supposed  to  be  a  Roman 

curiosities  he  could  find,  whilst  I  gathered  what  plant*  and  in- 
sects  I  could  find  below.  Of  the  latter,  I  found  a  very  curious  and 
new  cimex  or  bug! !  "—Travels,  p.  128. 


228  PALESTINE;  OR, 

milestone.  The  hills  nearest  to  Jerusalem  consist, 
according  to  Hasselquist,  of  a  very  hard  limestone ; 
and  different  sorts  of  plants  are  found  on  them,  in  par- 
ticular the  myrtle,  the  carob-tree,  and  the  turpentine- 
tree  ;  but  further  towards  Jericho,  they  are  bare  and 
barren,  the  hard  limestone  giving  way  to  a  looser  kind, 
sometimes  white  and  sometimes  greyish,  with  inter- 
jacent layers  of  a  reddish  micaceous  stone  (saxum 
purum  micdceurn).  The  vales,  though  now  bare  and 
uncultivated,  and  full  of  pebbles,  contain  good  red 
mould,  which  would  amply  reward  the  husbandman's 
toil.  Nothing  can  be  more  savage  than  the  present 
aspect  of  these  wild  and  gloomy  solitudes  —  the  very 
road  in  which  is  laid  the  scene  of  that  exquisite 
parable,  the  Good  Samaritan.  *  and  from  that  time  to 
the  present,  the  haunt  of  the  most  desperate  bandits, 
being  one  of  the  most  dangerous  in  Palestine.  Some- 
times the  track  leads  along  the  edges  of  cliffs  and  pre- 
cipices, which  threaten  destruction  on  the  slightest 
false  step:  at  other  times  it  winds  through  craggy 
passes,  overshadowed  by  projecting  or  perpendicular 
rocks.  At  one  place,  the  road  has  been  cut  through 
the  very  apex  of  a  hill,  the  rocks  overhanging  it  on 
either  side.  Here,  in  1820,  an  English  traveller,  Sir 
Frederick  Henniker,  was  attacked  by  the  Arabs  with 
fire-arms,  who  stripped  him  naked,  and  left  him 
severely  wounded.  "  It  was  past  mid-day,  and  burn- 
ing hot,"  says  Sir  Frederick ;  "  I  bled  profusely ;  and 
two  vultures,  whose  business  it  is  to  consume  corpses, 
were  hovering  over  me.  I  should  scarcely  have  had 
strength  to  resist,  had  they  chosen  to  attack  me."  At 

*  Luke  x.  30.  "  A  certain  man  went  down  from  Jerusalem  to 
Jericho,  and  fell  among  thieves  (robbers),  who  stripped  him  of  his 
raiment,  and  wounded  him,  and  departed,  leaving  him  half-dead." 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  229 

length  the  janissary  who  attended  him,  and  who  had 
galloped  away  in  panic  fear,  returned,  together  with 
his  Greek  servant :  they  lifted  him  on  a  horse,  and  he 
was  thus  carried  to  Jericho,  where  the  secretary  of  the 
governor,  "  the  only  Christian"  there,  provided  him 
with  a  shirt ;  and  some  women,  who  came  with  theii 
pitchers  to  the  pool  near  which  he  was  laid,  in  spite  of 
his  being  a  Christian,  brought  him  a  lemon  and  some 
milk,  — justifying  the  testimony  borne  by  Mungo 
Parke  to  the  universal  character  of  woman.  The 
monks  have  given  the  name  of  the  field  of  Abdonim, 
or  blood,  to  a  small,  round,  grassy  valley,  which  they 
have  been  pleased  to  fix  upon  as  the  real  spot  where 
the  facts  supposed  in  the  parable  took  place ;  and 
here,  two  hundred  years  ago,  Brocardus  "  fell  among 
thieves."  • 

The  modern  village  of  Jericho  is  described  by  Mr. 
Buckingham  as  a  settlement  of  about  fifty  dwellings, 
all  very  mean  in  their  appearance,  and  fenced  in  front 
with  thorny  bushes,  while  a  barrier  of  the  same  kind, 
the  most  effectual  that  could  be  raised  against  mounted 
Arabs,  encircles  the  town.  A  fine  brook  flows  by  it, 
which  empties  itself  into  the  Jordan :  the  nearest  point 
of  that  river  is  about  three  miles  distant.  The  grounds 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  village,  being  fertilized 
by  this  stream,  bear  crops  of  dourra,  Indian  corn,  rice, 
and  onions.  The  population  is  entirely  Mahommedan, 
and  is  governed  by  a  sheikh ;  their  habits  are  those  of 
Bedouins,  and  robbery  and  plunder  form  their  chief 
and  most  gainful  occupation.  They  call  the  place 
Rihhah,  which  signifies  in  Arabic  Odour  ;  and  it  is 
from  the  near  correspondence  of  this  name  of  the 
place,  both  in  sound  and  signification,  to  the  Hebrew 

*  Quaresinius,  cited  by  Hcnniker,  p.  885. 


230  PALESTINE;  OR, 

Rahab,  (the  name  of  the  harlot  who  here  entertained 
the  spies  sent  by  Joshua)  that  it  has  been  considered 
as  the  identical  site  of  Jericho,  notwithstanding  that 
not  a  trace  remains  of  the  ancient  city.* 

Three  or  four  miles,  however,  nearer  Jerusalem,  at 
the  very  foot  of  the  mountains,  Mr.  Buckingham 
noticed  the  ruins  of  apparently  a  place  of  consequence. 
Several  large  tumuli  were  observed,  evidently  the  work 
of  art ;  and  near  them  u  a  large  square  area,  enclosed 
by  long  and  regular  mounds,"  seeming  to  mark  the 
course  of  the  walls.  Foundations  of  walls,  shafts  of 
columns,  and  a  capital  of  the  Corinthian  order,  are 
described  as  lying  in  other  directions.  It  is  here, 
he  thinks,  rather  than  at  Rihhah,  that  the  site  of 
Jericho  must  be  fixed ;  its  local  situation,  as  well  as  its 
distance  from  Jerusalem,  exactly  answering  to  the 
description  given  by  Josephus  of  the  once  flourishing 
"  city  of  palms."-j-  At  the  present  time  there  is  not 
a  tree  of  any  description,  either  palm  or  balsam,  and 
scarcely  any  verdure  to  be  seen  about  the  spot ;  but 
for  this,  the  desolations  of  war,  the  want  of  water 
occasioned  by  the  destruction  of  the  aqueducts,  and 
the  neglect  of  cultivation,  sufficiently  account,  as  the 


*  —  «'  the  famous  city  of  Jericho,  but  at  present  so  far  from 
retaining  any  thing  of  its  former  lustre,  that  one  would  question 
whether  there  had  ever  been  a  city  or  town  thereabouts ;  all  that 
is  now  to  be  seen  being  only  some  hovels  of  dried  mud,  the  dwell- 
ings of  husbandmen  and  shepherds."  — VAN  EGMONT'S  Travels, 
vol.  i.  p.  332. 

t  "  It  is  situated  hi  a  plain ;  but  a  naked  and  barren  mountain 
of  a  very  great  length  hangs  over  it,  which  extends  itself  to  the 
land  about  Scythopolis  northward,  and  as  far  as  the  country  of 
Sodom  and  the  utmost  limit  of  the  lake  Asphaltites  southward. 
This  mountain  is  all  of  it  very  uneven,  and  uninhabited  by  reason 
of  its  barrenness."  "  This  place  is  150  furlongs  from  Jerusalem, 
and  sixty  from  Jordan."— JOSEPH.  Jew,  Wars,  lib.  iv.  cap.  8. 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  231 

fertility  of  the  soil  depended  entirely  on  irrigation.  * 
The  whole  valley  was  once  esteemed  the  most  fruitful 
in  Judea ;  and  the  obstinacy  with  which  the  Jews 
fought  here  to  prevent  the  balsam-trees  from  falling 
into  the  possession  of  the  Romans,  attests  the  import- 
ance which  was  attached  to  them.  This  tree  Pliny 
describes  as  peculiar  to  the  vale  of  Jericho,  and  as 
"  more  like  a  vine  than  a  myrtle."  It  was  esteemed  so 
precious  a  rarity,  that  both  Pompe^  snd  Titus  carried 
a  specimen  to  Rome  in  triumph ;  and  the  balsam, 
owing  to  its  scarcity,  sold  for  double  its  weight  in 
silver,  till  its  high  price  led  to  the  practice  of  adultera- 
tion. Justin  makes  it  the  chief  source  of  the  national 
wealth.  He  describes  the  country  in  which  it  grew, 
as  a  valley  like  a  garden,  environed  with  continual 
hills,  and,  as  it  were,  enclosed  with  a  wall.  "  The 
space  of  the  valley  contains  200,000  acres,  and  is  called 
Jericho.  In  that  valley,  there  is  wood  as  admirable 
for  its  fruitfulness  as  for  its  delight,  for  it  is  inter- 
mingled with  palm-trees  and  opobalsamum.  The  trees 
of  the  opobalsamum  have  a  resemblance  to  fir-trees ;  -f 
but  they  are  lower,  and  are  planted  and  husbanded 
after  the  manner  of  vines.  On  a  set  season  of  the 
year  they  sweat  balsam.  J  The  darkness  of  the  place 
is  besides  as  wonderful  as  the  fruitfulness  of  it ;  for 
although  the  sun  shines  nowhere  hotter  in  the  world, 
there  is  naturally  a  moderate  and  perpetual  gloominess 


*  "  Locus  favx,pahnia  abundans,  totus  irrigmu."— STRABO. 

t  Strabo  describes  it  as  resembling  the  turpentine-tree  and  the 
laburnum — "  cytiso  et  terebintho,  persimttis" 

t  Josephus  says :  "the  sprouts  being  cut  with  sharp  stones,  at 
the  incisions  they  gather  the  juice,  which  drops  down  like  tears." 
— Jew .  Wars,  book  i.  chap.  7-  Strabo  desciibes  it  as  resembling 
milk,  but  it  became  thicker  from  standing ;  and  he  speaks  of  its 
aromatic  odour. 


232  PALESTINE;  OR, 

of  the  air."  According  to  Mr.  Buckingham,  this 
description  is  most  accurate.  "  Both  the  heat  and 
the  gloominess,"  he  says,  "  were  observed  by  us, 
though  darkness  would  be  an  improper  term  to  apply 
to  this  gloom." 

In  a  small  wood  to  the  south-east  of  Jericho, 
Dr.  Pococke  noticed  another  singular  shrub,  which  he 
supposes  to  be  the  myrobalanum  of  Josephus  and 
Pliny.  It  is  called  by  him  the  zoccum-tree ;  but 
Maundrell,  describing  apparently  the  same  "  thorny 
bush,"  says  that  the  Arabs  call  it  zacho-ne.  The 
bark  is  like  that  of  the  holly;  it  has  very  strong 
thorns,  and  the  leaf  is  something  like  that  of  the 
Barbary  tree.  It  bears  a  green  nut  resembling,  both 
in  shape  and  colour,  a  small  unripe  walnut :  it  is 
ribbed,  has  a  thick  shell,  and  a  very  small  kernel. 
Maundrell  says,  that  the  Arabs  bray  the  kernels  in 
a  mortar,  and  then,  putting  the  pulp  into  scalding 
water,  skim  off  the  oil  which  rises.  Pococke's  account 
varies :  they  grind  the  whole,  he  tells  us,  and  press 
an  oil  out  of  it,  as  they  do  out  of  olives,  and  call  it  a 
balsam.  "  This  oil  they  take  inwardly  for  bruises," 
adds  the  former  traveller,  "  and  apply  it  outwardly 
to  green  wounds,  preferring  it  before  balm  of  Gilead. 
I  procured  a  bottle  of  it,  and  have  found  it  upon 
small  trials  a  very  healing  medicine."  What  is  called 
the  rose  of  Jericho,  a  species  of  thlaspi,  was  not  to  be 
found  at  that  season. 

Beyond  the  modern  village  of  Rihhah,  the  plain 
extending  to  the  Jordan  becomes  very  barren,  pro- 
ducing nothing  but  a  kind  of  samphire  and  other 
marine  plants.  "  I  observed,"  says  Maundrell,  "  in 
many  places  of  the  road,  where  puddles  of  water  had 
stood,  a  whiteness  upon  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
which,  upon  trial,  I  found  to  be  a  crust  of  salt,  caused 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  233 

by  the  water  to  rise  out   of  the  earth,  in  the   same 
manner  as  it  does   every  year  in  the  Valley  of  Salt 
near  Aleppo,   after  the  winter's  inundation.     These 
saline  efflorescences  I  found  at  some  leagues'  distance 
from   the   Dead    Sea;  which  demonstrates  that   the 
whole  valley  must  be  all  over  plentifully  impregnated 
with  that   mineral."      Chateaubriand    compares    the 
appearance   of   the  soil  to  the  bottom  of  a  sea  that 
had  long  retired  from  its  bed, — "  a  beach  covered  with 
salt,  dry  mud  and  moving  sands,  furrowed  as  it  were 
by  the  waves.     Here  and  there,  stunted  shrubs  with 
difficulty  vegetate  upon  this  inanimate  tract ;    their 
leaves  are  covered  with  salt,  which  has  nourished  them, 
and  their  bark  has  a  smoky  smell  and  taste.     Instead 
of  villages   you  perceive   the  ruins  of  a  few  towers. 
Through  the  middle  of  this  valley  flows  a  discoloured 
river,  which  reluctantly  creeps  towards  the  pestilential 
lake  by  which  it  is  engulfed.     Its  course  amid  the 
sands  can  be  distinguished  only  by  the  willows  and 
the  reeds  that  border  it ;  and  the  Arab  lies  in  ambush 
among  these  reeds,   to  attack  the  traveller,  and  to 
plunder  the  pilgrim." 

Less  poetical,  but  more  distinct,  is  the  account 
given  by  the  Swedish  Naturalist.  He  reached  the 
Jordan  at  three  leagues'  distance  from  the  Dead  Sea. 
The  river  was  then  about  eight  paces  over ;  "  the 
shores  perpendicular,  six  feet  high ;  the  water  deep, 
muddy,  rather  warm  than  cold,  and  much  inferior  in 
goodness  to  the  Nile.  On  the  shores  grew  rhamnus, 
mlex  agnus  castus^  a  willow  of  which  pilgrims  make 
staves.  The  plain  reaches  to  the  Dead  Sea,  and  is 
three  leagues  long,  level,  with  some  small  rising, 
grounds  *  in  different  places,  between  which  are  nar- 

*  Maunirell  says,  these  hillorks  resemble  those  places  in  Eng- 
land where  there  have  been  anciently  lime-kilns.  "  Whether 


234  PALESTINE;  on, 

row  vales,  uncultivated  and  barren.  The  soil  is  a 
greyish,  sandy  clay,  so  loose  that  our  horses  often 
sunk  up  to  the  knees  in  it.  The  whole  surface  of  the 
earth  was  covered  with  salt,  in  the  same  manner  as  in 
Egypt.  The  soil,  therefore,  is  Egyptian,  and  might 
be  as  fruitful  if  it  were  tilled  ;  and  without  doubt  it 
was  so  in  the  time  of  the  Israelites.  The  river  had 
thrown  up  a  quantity  of  willow  at  its  mouth!  The 
shore  consists  of  the  same  clay  as  the  plain  we  had 
passed  over.  In  several  places  were  perpendicular 
strata  of  a  reddish  brittle  earth,  which  will,  without 
doubt,  in  time  become  slate  inclosed  in  limestone. 
The  stones  on  the  shore  were  all  quartz,  of  different 
colours  and  sizes." 

About  half  a  mile  from  the  river  Jordan,  near  the 
part  where  the  Latin  pilgrims  bathe,  there  are  the 
ruins  of  a  church  and  convent  dedicated  to  John  the 
Baptist,  —  "  founded,"  says  Maundrell,  "  as  near  as 
could  be  conjectured,  on  the  very  place  where  he  had 
the  honour  to  perform  his  sacred  office."  The  schis- 
matical  Greeks,  however,  are  of  a  different  opinion, 
and  where  the  Latins  turn  to  the  N.E.,  they  turn 
to  the  S.E.,  to  a  part  of  the  river  three  or  four  miles 
lower  down.  The  convent  was  built  chiefly  of  hewn 
stone,  on  the  brow  of  a  descent  over  the  plain  ;  and 
"  it  is  thought"  that  formerly  the  river  Jordan  over- 
flowed  to  the  foot  of  this  height.  But,  says  Pococke, 
"  as  the  banks  are  about  fifteen  feet  high,  I  should 
hardly  have  imagined  that  it  ever  overflowed  them, 
nor  could  I  be  informed  that  it  does  at  present."  The 
learned  traveller  is  here  speaking  of  the  higher  or 
outer  bank  of  the  river,  from  which  there  is  a  descent 

these  might  be  the  pits  at  which  the  kings  of  Sodom  and  Com  or- 
rah  were  overthrown  by  the  four  kings,  Gen.  xiv.  10,  1  will  not 
determine." 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  235 

in  many  places  to  a  lower  ground,  only  four  or  five 
feet  above  the  water.  There  is  no  doubt  that  an- 
ciently, at  certain  seasons,  (in  particular  in  the  first 
month  of  the  Hebrew  year,  March,)  the  river  over- 
flowed its  inner  bank.*  But  at  present,  says  Maun- 
drell,  "  whether  it  be  because  the  river  has,  by  its 
rapidity  of  current,  worn  its  channel  deeper  than  it 
was  formerly,  or  whether  because  its  waters  are  di- 
verted some  other  way,  it  seems  to  have  forgot  its 
ancient  greatness;  for  we  could  discern  no  sign  or 
probability  of  such  overflowings  when  we  were  there, 
which  was  the  30th  of  March,  being  the  proper  time 
for  these  inundations.  Nay,  so  far  was  the  river  from 
overflowing,  that  it  ran  at  least  two  yards  below  the 
brink  of  its  channel."  Pococke  was  there  at  the  same 
time  of  year,  the  last  week  in  March ;  Hasselquist 
about  a  fortnight  later;  Chateaubriand  in  October. 
This  accounts  for  his  different  account  of  the  current 
of  the  Jordan,  which  he  represents  as  sluggish, — re- 
luctantly creeping  to  the  Dead  Sea.  Pococke  describes 
it,  on  the  contrary,  as  "  deep  and  very  rapid,  wider 
than  the  Tiber  at  Rome,  and  perhaps  about  as  wide 
as  the  Thames  at  Windsor ;  the  water  turbid."  He 
adds,  that  the  pilgrims  who  dip  in  the  river  are  obliged 
to  hold  by  the  boughs  of  the  trees,  "  because  the  bank 
is  both  soft  and  steep,  and  the  stream  so  rapid,  that 
there  is  some  danger  of  being  carried  away  by  it,  if 
any  one  ventured  in  without  holding  by  the  boughs ; 
for  in  that  case  a  person  must  be  skilful  in  swimming, 
in  order  to  recover  the  bank,  some  pilgrims  having 
been  drowned,  who  unadvisedly  ventured  into  the 
river."  The  women,  therefore,  stand  on  the  bank, 
and  "  being  stripped  to  their  under-garaient,  get  the 

*  Joshua  iii.  15.    1  Chron.  xli.  15.    Jer.  nil.  5. 


236  PALESTINE;  OR, 

people  to  pour  the  water  on  them.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Connor,  who  accompanied  the  Greek  pilgrims  to  the 
Jordan,  in  April  1820,  says  that,  at  the  spot  where 
they  bathed,  the  water  appeared  turbid,  but  not  deep. 
Its  breadth,  he  thinks,  may  be  about  twenty  yards. 
"  Some  Turkish  horsemen  dashed  through  the  river, 
and  rode  to  and  fro  in  the  grove  on  the  opposite  side, 
to  protect  the  pilgrims  from  the  guns  of  the  Bedouins, 
many  of  whom  were  assembled  to  watch  the  cere- 
mony." The  Jordan  here,  he  adds,  is  beautifully 
picturesque.  Van  Egmont  too  says :  "  The  Greeks 
and  Armenians,  both  men,  women,  and  children,  rush 
into  this  river  with  the  greatest  raptures ;  and  some, 
who  affect  a  more  than  ordinary  devotion,  have  water 
poured  on  their  heads,  in  memory  of  our  Saviour's 
baptism."  He  notices  the  remarkable  rapidity  of  the 
current.  But  this  apparent  contradiction  is  easily 
reconciled.  Pococke  accompanied  the  Latin  pilgrims 
to  a  part  of  the  river,  between  three  and  four  miles 
higher  up,  where  the  stream  is  narrower,  and  conse- 
quently deeper  and  more  rapid.  The  Greeks  have 
chosen  the  more  convenient  bathing-place. 

The  periodical  rise  of  the  river  must  vary,  indeed, 
according  to  the  duration  or  quantity  of  the  rains ; 
but  it  is  still  very  considerable,  although,  according 
to  Maundrell's  accurate  conjecture,  its  channel  is  no 
doubt  worn  deeper,  and  it  may  have  suffered  a  dimi- 
nution in  its  waters  from  other  circumstances.  31 r. 
Buckingham  crossed  the  Jordan  in  the  last  week  in 
January :  the  river  was  then  at  its  lowest  ebb,  flowing 
between  banks  fourteen  or  fifteen  feet  high.  At  the 
point  where  he  crossed,  which  was  a  little  more  to  the 
northward,  it  did  not  appear  above  twenty-five  yards 
in  breadth,  and  was  easily  fordable  by  horses.  The 
stream  was  still  "  exceeding  rapid,"  but,  "  from  its 


THE  HOLY   LAND.  237 

flowing  over  a  bed  of  pebbles,  tolerably  clear"  and 
sweet.  Assuming  these  various  statements  to  be  cor- 
rect, it  would  seem  that,  between  the  end  of  January 
and  the  end  of  March,  the  Jordan  rises  at  this  part, 
from  nine  to  ten  perpendicular  feet — a  height  quite 
sufficient  to  produce  a  very  extensive  inundation, 
when  its  channel  was  shallower.  This  rise  appears  to 
be  rapid,  being  occasioned  by  the  mountain  torrents 
formed  by  the  early  and  the  latter  rains.  The  second 
bank  (which  is,  according  to  Maundrell,  about  a 
furlong  distant  from  the  outer  one,  but  the  width  of 
this  lower  plain  varies)  is  "  so  beset  with  bushes  and 
trees,  such  as  tamarisk,  willows,  oleander,  &c.,  that 
you  can  see  no  water  till  you  have  made  your  way 
through  them.  In  this  thicket  anciently,"  he  adds, 
"  and  the  same  is  reported  of  it  at  this  day,  several 
sorts  of  wild  beasts  were  wont  to  harbour  themselves  ; 
whose  being  washed  out  of  the  covert  by  the  over- 
flowings of  the  river,  gave  occasion  to  that  allusion, 
Jer.  xlix.  19;  1.  44.  'He  shall  come  up  like  a  lion 
from  the  swelling  of  Jordan.'  On  the  other  side 
there  seemed  to  be  a  much  larger  thicket  than  on  that 
where  we  were." 

Mr.  Buckingham  was  informed  by  his  Arab  guides, 
that,  about  a  day's  journey  to  the  southward  of 
Jericho,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  is  a  place  called 
Merthah,  "  supposed  to  be  the  site  of  a  city  of  the 
giants,"  where  there  are  many  sepulchral  caves,  from 
which  had  been  taken  human  skulls  and  bones  of  at 
least  three  times  the  size  of  those  of  the  human  race 
at  the  present  day :  t^ese  the  Arabs  professed  to  have 
themselves  seen  and  handled.  Mr.  Buckingham  con- 
jectures that  this  Merthah  may  be  the  Maresha  or 
Marissa  of  Josephus.  Mareshah  was  among  the  cities 
built  or  fortified  by  Rehoboam :  it  was  in  the  tribe 


238  PALESTINE;  OR, 

of  Judah,  and  apparently  not  far  from  Hebron.*  The 
Jewish  historian  mentions  the  bones  of  giants  that 
were  in  his  time  shewn  near  the  latter  city. 

At  about  two  hours'  distance  northward  of  Rihhah, 
Mr.  Buckingham  noticed  the  ruins  of  a  fine  Roman 
aqueduct,  at  the  distance  of  a  mile  to  his  left :  there 
appeared  to  be  about  twenty  arches  still  perfect.  In 
this  direction  was  Cypros,  one  of  the  cities  built  by 
Herod,  and  named  in  honour  of  his  mother.  Near 
this  spot,  too,  our  traveller  remarks,  must  have  stood 
the  ancient  city  of  Ai  or  Hai,-f-  which  was  to  the  east 
of  Bethel,  that  lay  in  the  hills.  Proceeding  about  half 
an  hour  further  to  the  north,  over  the  same  kind  of 
plain,  "  we  opened  on  our  left,"  says  this  same  travel- 
ler, "  a  beautiful  valley,  now  highly  cultivated,  and 
spread  over  with  a  carpet  of  the  freshest  verdure, 
seemingly  of  young  corn.  This  place,  we  are  told,  is 
called  Waad-el-Farah,  or  the  Valley  of  Farah ;  and 
a  town  was  spoken  of  near  it,  in  the  side  of  the  hill, 
bearing  the  same  name,  and  larger  and  more  populous 
than  Rihhah."  The  situation  corresponds,  apparently, 
to  that  of  Phasaelus,  a  city  in  the  Valley  of  Jericho, 
built  by  Herod,  and  named  in  honour  of  his  brother.  £ 
At  this  point,  which  they  estimated  to  be  little  more 
than  six  miles  north  of  Rihhah,  the  travellers  turned 
eastward  to  cross  the  Jordan  ;  where,  for  the  present, 
we  leave  them,  and,  returning  to  the  Jewish  capital, 
prepare  to  set  out  for  Galilee,  and  the  shores  of  the 
far-famed  Lake  of  Tiberias,  in  our  way  to  which  we 
must  needs  pass  through  Samaria.  §  Here  we  shall 


*  Jos.  Antiq.  lib.  xii.  cap,  8 ;  lib.  xiii.  cap.  15. 
fGen.  xiL  8;  xiii.3.    Josh.  vii.  2;  viii.  12.    Ezra  ii.  28.    Neh 
vii.  32. 

t  Buckingham's  Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  88.  §  John  iv.  4. 


THE   HOLY  LAND.  239 

again  join  company  with  Dr.  Richardson,  who,  in  the 
suite  of  Earl  Belmore,  took  this  route  to  Damascus. 


ROUTE  TO  NABLOUS  AND  TIBERIAS. 

FOR  some  hours  after  leaving  Jerusalem,  the  route 
to  the  north  lies  over  a  rugged  and  mountainous 
country,  which,  though  susceptible  of  cultivation  by 
being  terraced,*  now  presents  an  aspect  of  frightful 
nakedness  and  sterility.  The  road,  if  it  may  be 
called  such,  is  rough  and  stony;  and  no  object  of 
interest  occurs  before  the  traveller  arrives  at  Beer, 
which  is  three  hours  and  a  half  (about  ten  miles)  from 
Jerusalem.  The  name  of  the  place  is  derived  from 
its  well,  which  Beer  signifies.  It  seems,  Dr.  Richard- 
son says,  to  have  been  once  a  place  of  considerable 
consequence;  and  Maundrell  supposed  it  to  be  the 
Beer  referred  to  Judges  ix.  21,  to  which  Jotham  fled 
from  the  revenge  of  Abimelech.  "  It  is  supposed 
also,"  he  adds,  "  to  be  the  same  with  Michmash, 


*  "  For  the  husbanding  of  these  mountains,  their  manner  was, 
to  gather  up  the  stones,  and  place  them  in  several  lines,  along  the 
sides  of  hills,  in  form  of  a  wall.  By  such  borders  they  supported 
the  mould  from  tumbling,  or  being  washed  down ;  and  formed 
many  beds  of  excellent  soil,  rising  gradually  one  above  another, 
from  the  bottom  to  the  top  of  the  mountains.  Of  this  form  of 
culture  you  see  evident  footsteps  wherever  you  go  in  all  the 
mountains  of  Palestine.  Thus  the  very  rocks  were  made  fruit- 
ful. The  hills,  though  improper  for  all  cattle,  except  goats,  yet, 
being  disposed  into  such  beds  as  are  before  described,  served  very 
well  to  bear  corn,  melons,  gourds,  cucumbers,  and  such  like  garden- 
stuff,  which  make  the  principal  food  of  these  countries  for  seve- 
ral months  in  the  year.  The  most  rockv  parts  of  all,  which  cculd 
not  well  be  adjusted  in  that  manner  for  the  production  of  corn, 
might  yet  serve  for  the  plantation  of  vines  and  olive-trees,  which 
delight  to  extract,  the  one  its  fatness,  the  ather  its  sprightly  juice 
chiefly  out  of  such  dry  and  flinty  place8."—MAUN  DREG'S  Journey 
frwm  Aleppo,  $c. 


240  PALESTINE;   OR, 

1  Sam.  xiv.  5."  But  Reland,  on  the  authority  of 
Eusebius,  places  Michmash  nearer  Jerusalem,  in  the 
direction  of  Rama.  Close  to  the  well,  which  is  at 
the  bottom  of  the  declivity  on  which  stands  the  vil- 
lage, are  the  mouldering  walls  of  a  ruined  khan  ;  and 
on  the  summit  of  the  hill,  two  large  arches  still  remain 
of  a  ruined  convent — Maundrell  calls  it  an  old  church, 
and  says  it  was  built  by  the  empress  Helena,  in  com- 
memoration of  the  Virgin's  coming  as  far  as  this  spot 
in  quest  of  the  child  Jesus,  as  related  Luke  x.  24  ! 
A  little  beyond  Beer  two  roads  meet:  that  on  the 
right  conducts  to  Nablous.  "  After  two  hours'  travel- 
ling along  the  same  rocky  path,"  says  Dr.  Richardson, 
"  we  passed  the  village  of  Einbroot,  which  is  finely 
situated  on  our  left,  on  the  top  of  a  hill.  The  ad- 
joining valley  is  well  cultivated,  and  the  sides  of  the 
hills  are  raised  in  terraces,  and  planted  with  the  olive, 
the  vine,  and  the  fig-tree.  On  approaching  Einbroot, 
the  guide  of  the  caravan  called  out  for  us  to  march 
in  close  order.  Here  it  was  reported  that  we  were  in 
danger  of  being  attacked  by  banditti,  and  that  the 
muskets  were  seen  pointed  at  us  over  the  stones ;  but 
upon  the  guide,  who  rode  considerably  in  advance, 
informing  them  who  the  party  were  whom  they  meant 
to  attack,  that  they  travelled  under  the  protection  of 
a  firman  from  the  Porte  and  the  pasha  of  Acre,  and, 
what  was,  perhaps,  as  powerful  a  dissuasive,  that  we 
were  armed,  and  could  fight  as  well  as  they  could, 
they  withdrew  their  weapons  of  offence,  and  remained 
quiet.  A  little  further  on  we  passed  two  villages  on 
our  left,  the  names  of  which  I  did  not  learn.*  The 
road  lay  partly  through  a  rocky  dell,  and  partly 
through  a  narrow  cultivated  valley ;  but  the  general 

*  Maundrell  mentions  an  Arab  village,  which  he  calls  Selwid, 
a  little  beyond  Geeb,  and  on  the  same  side  of  the  route. 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  241 

aspect  of  the  country  was  particularly  wild  and  barren. 
The  next  village  that  we  passed  was  called  Engeeb, 
also  on  the  top  of  a  hill  on  the  left,  and  the  adjoining 
ground  was  well  cultivated  in  the  same  manner.  After 
this,  we  passed  a  fine-looking  picturesque  hill,  every 
way  sur.ceptible  of  cultivation,  at  the  foot  of  which 
we  entered  the  small  valley  of  Khan  Leban,  where  we 
found  the  ruins  of  an  old  khan,  with  many  mouldering 
vaults,  and  a  plentiful  spring  of  clear  water,  much 
infested  with  small  worms.  It  derives  its  name  from 
a  village  called  Leban,  at  the  other  end  of  the  valley. 
It  is  eight  hours  from  Jerusalem.  Here  we  pitched 
our  tents  for  the  night,  the  place  being  agreeable  and 
convenient,  with  plenty  of  grass  for  the  animals. 

Maundrell  describes  this  spot  as  "  a  delicious  vale," 
and  says,  that  either  Khan  Leban,  which  is  on  the 
eastern  side,  or  the  village  which  is  on  the  opposite 
side,  is  supposed  to  be  the  site  of  the  ancient  Lebo- 
nah.  He  notices  also  a  village  called  Cinga,  lying 
at  some  distance  on  the  traveller's  left,  about  three 
quarters  of  an  hour  south  of  Khan  Leban ;  and,  be- 
tween this  and  Engeeb,  he  describes  a  very  narrow 
valley  between  two  high  rocky  hills,  where  he  found 
the  ruins  of  a  village  and  a  monastery,  supposed  to 
mark  the  site  of  the  ancient  Bethel,  which  was  on  the 
confines  of  Ephraim  and  Benjamin.  The  monastery 
is  almost  sufficient  to  awake  the  suspicion  that  this 
was  not  Bethel :  possibly,  the  Arabs,  who  are  the 
best  authorities,  could  decide  the  point,  as  they  have 
almost  uniformly  preserved  the  ancient  names.  But 
neither  the  empress  Helena  nor  the  monks  ever 
thought  of  consulting  them. 

"  Having  passed  the  village  of  Leban,"  continues 
Dr.  Richardson,  u  the  road,  winding  with  the  valley, 
proceeds  in  a  northern  direction.  Here  the  ground 

PART  II.  P 


242  PALESTINE;    OR, 

is  rich  and  well  cultivated,  and  several  ploughs  were 
busily  engaged.  "We  next  passed  the  village  of  Zanio, 
and,  travelling  for  a  considerable  time  over  a  moun- 
tainous and  barren  track,  descended  into  a  fertile 
valley,  where  we  found  the  reapers  cutting  down  an 
excellent  crop  of  barley.  Here  are  three  comfortable- 
looking  villages  near  each  other ;  the  first  is  named 
Cousa,  the  second  Anabous,  and  the  third  Couara. 
We  are  now  about  two  hours  and  a  half  from  Nablous. 
The  ground  in  this  valley  is  remarkably  stony,  but 
well  cultivated.  Having  ascended  the  hill,  we  passed 
on  OUT  right  the  tomb  of  the  patriarch  Joseph,  situated 
in  the  plain  below.  It  is  now  a  Turkish  oratory 
with  a  whitened  dome,  like  the  tomb  of  his  mother 
Rachel  on  the  road  between  Jerusalem  and  Bethle- 
hem. At  a  little  distance,  in  the  same  plain,  and 
nearer  to  the  mountain,  probably  Gerizim,  we  saw 
another  building  resembling  the  tomb  of  an  Arab 
sheikh,  and  said  to  be  Jacob's  Well.  At  the  top  of 
the  hill  we  opened  a  fine  olive  grove,  with  a  stream  of 
water  in  front  of  it.  Here,  being  anxious  to  have  a 
view  of  Jacob's  Well,  we  proceeded  across  the  field 
in  that  direction,  but  had  not  advanced  far  before  we 
were  assailed  by  prohibitory  calls  from  a  small  fort 
on  the  side  of  the  hill ;  to  which,  however,  as  we  did 
not  understand  them,  we,  at  first,  paid  no  attention  ; 
but  the  calls  were  speedily  followed  by  the  discharge 
of  a  musket  fired  across  our  front.  This  arrested 
our  progress,  and  drew  our  attention  to  the  place  from 
which  it  came.  Upon  this  the  calls  were  redoubled, 
and  our  guide  coming  up  informed  us,  that  we  were 
addressed  by  the  guard  who  was  placed  there  to  keep 
the  pass,  and  that  we  could  not  proceed  to  Jacob's 
Well.  We  had  previously  been  informed  that  the 
Arabs  around  Nablous  were  in  arms  against  the 


THE  HOLY   LAND.  243 

governor ;  but  this  is  the  only  specimen  of  Turkish 
vigilance  that  occurred  to  us  on  the  road.  We  saw 
no  symptoms  of  rebellion  among  the  Arabs." 

Here  again  the  question  presents  itself,  Is  this  the 
well  of  the  patriarch  whose  name  it  now  bears  ?  Who 
gave  it  this  name,  the  natives  or  the  Christians? 
Dr.  Clarke,  who  can  be  sometimes  incredulous,  but 
at  other  times  very  confiding,  says,  that  "  this  is 
allowed  by  all  writers"  to  be  the  spot  referred  to, 
John  iv.  6,  where  our  Saviour  had  the  memorable 
conference  with  the  Samaritan  woman.  The  con- 
currence of  "  all  writers"  cannot  throw  the  least  light 
on  the  fact ;  as  one  after  another  has  but  repeated  the 
legend  handed  down  from  the  days  of  that "  great  and 
devout  patroness  of  the  Holy  Land,"  as  honest  Maun- 
drell  slyly  calls  the  empress  Helena,  who  is  said  to 
have  built  a  church  over  the  well  of  which  "  a  few 
foundations"  *  were  then  remaining.  This  faithful 
traveller,  however,  notices  as  a  difficulty,  the  distance 
at  which  this  well  is  situated  from  the  modern  city. 
"  If  it  should  be  questioned,"  he  says,  "whether  this 
be  the  very  well  that  it  is  pretended  for,  or  no,  seeing 
it  may  be  suspected  to  stand  too  remote  fz-om  Sychar 
for  women  to  come  so  far  to  draw  water,  it  is  an- 
swered, that  probably  the  city  extended  further  this 
way  in  former  times  than  it  does  now,  as  may  be 
conjectured  from  some  pieces  of  a  very  thick  wall  still 
to  be  seen  not  far  from  hence.  These  pieces  of  •wall 
are  but  a  sorry  voucher  for  the  supposed  extension  of 
the  city  eastward,  so  far  beyond  the  present  walls  ;  -f- 

*  Mr.  Buckingham  says,  "  some  shafts  of  granite  pillars,  all 
the  rest  lying  in  one  undistinguished  heap  of  ruins." 

t  This  supposition  is,  indeed,  at  once  overthrown  by  Mr. 
Buckingham's  statement,  that  between  this  well  and  the  town 
are  some  ancient  sepulchres,  which  must  have  been  without  the 
city. 


244  PALESTINE;  OR, 

and  they  are  quite  as  likely  to  be  the  work  of  the  said 
empress.     The  simple   circumstance   of  the  distance 
of  this  well  from  Sychar  (above  a  mile),  would  not, 
however,  disprove  its  identity,  were  there  no  springs 
nearer  the  town,  or  were  there  no  other  reason  for 
hesitation.     But  Mr.  Buckingham  states,  that,  on  in- 
quiring of  the  inhabitants  for  the   Bir  (or   Beer)  el 
Yakoab,  he  was  told  by  everybody  that  this  was  in 
the  town.     As  this  information  did  not  correspond  to 
the  "  described  place  of  the  well,"  it  led  to  further 
explanation  ;  and,    "  at  length  by  telling   the  story 
attached  to  it,  we  found,"  he  says,  "  it  was   known 
here  only  by  the  name  of  Beer  Samareea,  or  the  Well 
of  Samaria."     It  is  not  a  little   singular,  that  this 
traveller   should  not,  so  far  as  appears,  have  visited 
what  now  bears  the    name   of  Jacob's   Well.     That 
name  may  have  been  arbitrarily  or  ignorantly   given 
to  it  by  the  Turks  ;  otherwise,  it  would  be   highly 
deserving  of  attention.     It  is  plain,  from  the  narative 
of  St.  John,  that  Jacob's  Well,  where  our  Lord  rested 
while  the  disciples  went  forward  into  the  city  to  buy 
meat,  was  at  some  short  distance  from   Sychar  ;  and 
consequently,  the  Beer  el  Yakoab,  if  absolutely  within 
the  town,  can  hardly  be  entitled  to  the  appellation. 
Mr.  Buckingham  notices,  however,  a  rfAirdwell,  "  not 
far  from  the  Well  of  Samaria,"  called  the  Beer  Yusef^ 
or  Joseph's  Well,  over  which  there  is  a  modern  build- 
ing ;  and  "  it  is  said  to  be  even  at  this  day  frequented 
for  water   from   Nablous."      The   Well   of  Samaria 
might,  therefore,  he  remarks,  also  have  been  so  from 
Sychar.     But  if  this  third  well  really  derives  its  name 
from  the  patriarch  Joseph,  to  whom  Jacob  gave  the 
parcel  of  ground  containing  the    place   of  sepulchre 
' '  before  the  city,"  *  it  is  very  possible  that  this  Beer 

*Gen.  xxxiii.  18,  19.    Josh.  xxiv.  32.    John  iv.  5. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  245 

Yusef  may  be  the  well  on  which  our  Lord  sat :  it 
would  be  correctly  referred  to  as  Jacob's  Well  by  the 
evangelist,  although  it  bore  the  name  of  his  son.  It 
must  be  left  to  future  travellers  to  decide  on  the  pro- 
babilities of  the  case.  In  the  meantime,  we  return  to 
the  account  given  us  of  the  "  Well  of  Samaria." 

Having  procured  a  Christian,  boy  for  a  guide,  Mr. 
Buckingham  left  Nablous  by  the  eastern  gate,  and 
after  passing  along  the  valley  for  about  a  quarter  of 
an  hour,  he  arrived  at  the  spot  where  the  pass  opens 
into  a  more  extensive  vale,  the  mountains  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Jordan  being  in  sight  on  the  left. 
Here  he  had  on  each  side  grottoes  and  tombs,  which 
we  shall  presently  notice  ;  and  from  hence,  in  another 
quarter  of  an  hour,  he  reached  the  Well  of  Samaria.* 
"  It  stands,"  he  says,  "  at  the  commencement  of  the 
round  vale  which  is  thought  to  be  the  parcel  of  ground 
bought  by  Jacob,  and  which,  like  the  narrow  valley 
west  of  Nablous,  is  rich  and  fertile.  The  mouth  of 
the  well  itself  had  an  arched  or  vaulted  building  over 
it ;  and  the  only  passage  down  to  it  at  this  moment 
is  by  a  small  hole  in  the  roof,  scarcely  large  enough 
for  a  moderate -sized  person  to  work  himself  through." 
Taking  off  his  large  Turkish  clothes,  our  traveller 
descended  with  a  lighted  taper,  but  even  then  did  not 
get  down  without  bruising  himself  against  the  sides. 
"  Nor  was  I,"  he  says, x<  at  all  rewarded  for  such  an 
inconvenience  by  the  sight  below.  Landing  on  a  heap 
of  dirt  and  rubbish,  we  saw  a  large,  flat,  oblong  stone, 
which  lay  almost  on  its  edge  across  the  mouth  of  the 
well,  and  left  barely  space  enough  to  see  that  there 
was  an  opening  below.  We  could  not  ascertain  its 
diameter,  but,  by  the  time  of  a  stone's  descent,  it  was 

*  Maundrell  makes  "Jacob's  Well"  "  about  one  third  of  au  hour 
from  Naplosa." 

p  2 


246  PALESTINE  ;   OR, 

evident  that  it  was  of  considerable  depth,  as  well  as 
that  it  was  perfectly  dry  at  this  season  (Feb.),  the 
fall  of  the  stone  giving  forth  a  dead  and  hard  sound."  * 
Maundrell  removed  the  "  broad  flat  stone"  which  lay 
on  the  mouth,  and  examined  the  well  more  minutely. 
"  It  is,"  he  says,  "  dug  in  a  firm  rock,  and  contains 
about  three  yards  in  diameter  and  thirty-five  in  depth ; 
five  of  which  we  found  full  of  water"  This  was  the 
latter  end  of  March.  "  This  confutes  a  story,"  he 
adds,  "  commonly  told  to  travellers,  who  do  not  take 
the  pains  to  examine  the  well,  viz.  that  it  is  dry  all 
the  year  round,  except  on  the  anniversary  of  that  day 
on  which  our  blessed  Saviour  sat  upon  it,  but  then 
bubbles  up  with  abundance  of  water."  One  would 
imagine,  that  the  ''•  old  stone  vault"  built  over  the 
spot  was  designed  to  protect  the  legend,  rather  than 
the  well,  by  concealing  it  from  examination.  If  this 
were  really  the  well  to  which  the  inhabitants  of  Sychar 
were  accustomed  to  resort,  it  would  be  difficult  to  ac- 
count for  its  having  been  thus  abandoned. 

Nablous  (as  it  is  pronounced  by  the  Turks  and 
Arabs,  or  Naplosa,  as  the  Christians  who  speak  Italian 
call  it — a  corruption  of  Neapolis,  or  New  Town)  is 
one  of  the  few  places  in  the  Holy  Land,  the  ancient 
name  of  which  appears  to  be  superseded  by  that 
which  it  has  received  from  its  foreign  cdnquerors. 
Its  position  identifies  the  site,  beyond  all  question, 
with  the  Shechem  of  the  Old  Testament  f  and  the 
Sychar  (or  Sichem,  as  Jerome  contends  it  should  be) 
of  the  New,  the  ancient  capital  of  Samaria.  Josephus 
says,  that  the  natives  called  it  Mabartha,  but  by 
others  it  was  commonly  called  Neapolis.  J  Few  places 

*  Buckingham's  Travels,  8vo.  vol.  ii.  p.  460. 

t  Gen.  xxxiil.  18 ;  xxxvii.  13.     Josh.  xxiv.  32.    Judges  ix. 

£  Joseph.  Wars,  hook  iv.  chap.  8:  book  v.  chap.  4. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  247 

exceed  it  in  the  romantic  beauty  of  its  position.  It  is 
situated  in  the  narrow  valley  between  Mount  Ebal 
and  Mount  Gerizim,  having  the  former  on  the  north, 
and  the  latter  on  the  south  ;  but  it  is  correctly  de- 
scribed by  Maundrell  as  lying  under  Mount  Gerizim, 
being  built  at  the  acclivity  on  the  southern  side  of  the 
valley.  It  was  from  Mount  Gerizim  that  God  com- 
manded  the  blessings  to  be  pronounced  upon  the 
children  of  Israel,  and  from  Mount  Ebal  the  curses, 
respectively  annexed  to  obedience  and  disobedience, 
on  their  entering  the  promised  land  by  way  of  Jericho 
and  Ai  :  half  of  the  tribes  were  to  be  encamped  over 
against  the  one  hill,  and  half  over  against  the  other.  * 
The  modern  town  consists  of  two  long  streets,  running 
through  the  centre  of  the  valley,  and  intersected  bv 
several  smaller  ones,  mostly  crossing  them  at  right 
angles.  At  the  present  time  it  is  populous  and 
flourishing,  and  the  environs  bear  the  marks  of  opu. 
lence  and  industry,  being  adorned  with  small  gardens 
that  skirt  the  banks  of  the  stream  by  which  the  valley 
is  watered.  "  We  passed,"  says  Dr.  Richardson, 
"  its  scarcely  moistened  bed,  and  a  little  above  the 
town  saw  an  ancient  bridge  with  twelve  arches,  which 
were  still  capable  of  maintaining  the  communication 
between  the  two  sides  of  the  valley."  Dr.  Clarke, 
in  approaching  it  from  Jennin,  was  struck  with  its 
flourishing  appearance.  "  There  is  nothing  in  the 
Holy  Land  finer,"  he  affirms,  "  than  the  view  of 
Napolose  from  the  heights  around  it.  As  the  traveller 
descends  towards  it  from  the  hills,  it  appears  luxuri- 
antly embosomed  in  the  most  delightful  and  fragrant 
bowers,  half  concealed  by  rich  gardens,  and  by  stately 
trees  collected  into  groves  all  around  the  bold  and 

•  Deut.  xi.  29;  xxvii.  12,  13.    Josh.  viii.  33. 


248  PALESTINE;  OR, 

beautiful  valley  in  which  it  stands."  "  Within 
the  town  are  six  mosques,  five  baths,  one  Christian 
church  of  schismatic  Greeks,  an  excellent  covered 
bazar  for  fine  goods,  and  an  open  one  for  provisions, 
besides  numerous  cotton-cloth  manufactories,  and  shops 
of  every  description."  *  Dr.  Clarke  says,  the  prin- 
cipal trade  is.  in  soap;  but  the  manufactures  of  the 
town  supply  a  very  widely  extended  neighbourhood. 
The  water-melons  too  of  Nablous  are  equal,  he  says, 
to  those  of  Jaffa.  The  resident  population  is  supposed 
to  amount  to  10,000,  though  Mr.  Buckingham  thinks 
this  is  rather  over-rating  the  numbers.  These  are 
almost  all  Mahommedans,  the  Greek  Christians  scarcely 
amounting,  he  says,  to  fifty.  But  Mr.  Connor  states 
that  there  are  about  a  hundred.  They  have  one 
church  and  two  priests.  Though  the  commerce  is  so 
considerable,  there  are  few  Jews,  owing  perhaps  to  a 
religious  prejudice  against  the  place ;  Mr.  Bucking- 
ham says,  none  among  the  permanent  residents, 

Mr.  Connor  says,  "  about  fifteen  individuals."  Of 
the  Samaritans,  of  whom  a  respectable  remnant  existed 
here  so  late  as  the  time  of  Maundrell's  journey,  about 
a  century  ago,-f-  the  reverend  gentleman  last  men- 
tioned gives  the  following  interesting  account.  "  I 
immediately  made  inquiry  about  the  Samaritans.  *  My 
host  stepped  out,  and  fetched  their  priest :  he  sat  with 
me  some  time  :  his  name  is  Shalmor  ben  Tabiah  :  he 
is  a  native  of  Napolose,  and  is  about  forty  years  of 
age. 

•Buckingham's  Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  433. 

^  In  the  Itinerary  of  Rabbi  Benjamin,  Nablous  is  stated  to 
contain  above  100  Cutheans,  or  Samaritans.  He  mentions 
Cesarea  as  another  place  where  there  still  remained  a  remnant 
(about  200)  of  this  people.  There  are  said  to  be  still  some 
descendants  of  the  Samaritans  at  Gaza,  Damascus,  and  Grand 
Cairo. 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  249 

"  There  are  about  forty  Samaritans  in  Napolose. 
They  have  but  one  synagogue  in  the  town,  where  they 
have  service  every  Saturday.  Four  times  a-year  they 
go,  in  solemn  procession,  to  the  old  synagogue  on 
Mount  Gerizim ;  and,  on  these  occasions,  they  go  up 
before  sunrise,  and  read  the  law  till  noon.  On  one 
of  these  days  they  kill  six  or  seven  rams.  The  Sa- 
maritans have  one  school  in  Napolose,  where  their 
language  is  taught.  The  head  of  the  sect  resides  in 
Paris. 

"  I  accompanied  the  priest  to  his  house,  and  sat  a 
long  time  with  him.  There  were  several  Jews  pre- 
sent :  they  seem  to  live  on  friendly  terms  with  the 
Samaritans  here.  The  priest  shewed  me  part  of  the 
first  volume  of  the  English  Polyglott,  mentioned  by 
Maundrell :  it  consisted  of  about  a  dozen  tattered 
leaves.  He  shewed  me  also  a  manuscript  Samaritan 
Pentateuch,  with  an  Arabic  version  at  its  side ;  this 
version,  however,  is  not  used  in  their  synagogue.  He 
afterward  took  me  to  see  the  synagogue,  making  me 
first  take  off  my  shoes  :  it  is  a  small  gloomy  building. 
I  observed  a  number  of  copies  of  the  Samaritan  Penta- 
teuch, carefully  enveloped  in  linen,  and  laid  on  a  shelf 
in  the  synagogue.  Expressing  a  wish  to  see  the 
ancient  manuscript,  said  by  the  Samaritans  to  be 
3500  years  old,  the  priest  paused,  and  hesitated  some 
time.  I  pressed  him.  Having  laid  aside  his  upper 
garments,  he  at  length  entered  the  sanctuary,  and 
produced  the  venerated  manuscript.  It  is  well  written 
on  vellum,  in  the  Samaritan  character,  and  is  pre- 
served in  a  tin  roller :  it  bears  the  marks  of  age,  and 
is  rather  tattered.  The  priest  would  not  permit  me, 
nor  any  one  present,  to  touch  it.  He  was  very  in- 
quisitive about  the  Samaritans  who,  he  had  heardi 
were  in  England." 


250  PALESTINE  ;    OR, 

The  accounts  which  we  have  of  the  ancient  Sama- 
ritans, (or  Cuthaeans,  as  they  are  called  by  the  Jewish 
writers,  from  the  founder  of  the  sect, .  Sanballad,  a 
Cuthite,)  have  come  to  us  chiefly  through  their  inve- 
terate enemies  the  Jews ;  whose  contempt  and  hatred 
were  apparently  excited  by  their  being  a  mixed  race, 
of  doubtful  genealogy,  and  schismatical  in  their  creed. 
In  rejecting  the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament  excepting 
the  Pentateuch,  they  were  countenanced  by  the  Sad- 
ducees.  Our  Lord,  however,  declares,  that  they 
worshipped  they  knew  not  what ;  *  which  seems  to 
imply  that,  although  they  cherished,  in  common  with 
the  Jews,  the  expectation  of  a  Messiah,  their  worship 
had  still  an  idolatrous  tincture :  they  "  feared  the 
Lord,"  but,  if  they  did  not  still  "  serve  graven 
images,"  like  their  ancestors,  -f-  they  did  not  worship 
God  as  a  Spirit.  Notwithstanding  their  enmity  against 
the  Jews,  they  joined  in  revolt  against  the  Romans, 
and  shared  in  the  calamities  of  the  guilty  nation. 
After  the  fall  of  Jotapata  and  Jaffa,  eleven  thousand 
six  hundred  of  them  are  stated  to  have  posted  them- 
selves on  Mount  Gerizim ;  as  if,  like  the  Jews  of 
Jerusalem,  trusting  to  the  protection  of  their  temple,  or 
resolved  to  perish  on  the  sacred  spot.  The  Roman 
general  Cerealis,  with  600  horsemen  and  300  footmen, 
blockaded  them  here  ;  and  after  inviting  them  to  sur- 
render, which  they  obstinately  refused,  put  the  greater 
part  to  the  sword.  Five  centuries  after  the  Christian 
era,  the  Samaritans,  who  still  remained  a  distinct 
though  motley  race,  had  so  increased  in  strength,  that 
they  rose  in  arms,  under  the  standard  of  a  desperate 
leader,  to  protect  themselves  against  the  persecution  of 
the  Emperor  Justinian.  They  were,  says  Gibbon, 
*'  an  ambiguous  sect,  rejected  as  Jews  by  the  Pagans, 
*  John  iv.  22.  f  2  Kings  xvii.  41. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  251 

by  the  Jews  as  schismatics,  and  by  the  Christians  as 
idolaters.  One  hundred  thousand,  it  has  been  com- 
puted, perished  or  were  sold  as  captives  in  the  Sama- 
ritan war,  which  converted  the  once  fertile  province 
into  a  wilderness."*  A  remnant,  however,  have 
always  rallied  on  this  consecrated  spot,  under  the 
shadow  of  Mount  Gerizim.  In  1676,  a  correspond- 
ence took  place  between  their  chief-priest  at  Nablous 
and  the  learned  Scaliger,  on  the  differences  between 
the  Samaritan  and  Hebrew  Pentateuchs,  in  the  course 
of  which  information  was  elicited  respecting  the  opi- 
nions then  held  by  this  ancient  sect.  The  summary 
of  their  creed  was  to  this  effect:  That  they  believe  in 
God,  and  in  the  laws  of  his  servant  Moses ;  they  prac- 
tise circumcision ;  keep  the  sabbath  with  all  the  rigour 
of  a  penance ;  observe  the  Passover,  the  Pentecost, 
the  feast  of  tabernacles,  and  the  great  fast  of  expiation 
most  strictly;  and  never  offer  any  sacrifice  but  on 
Mount  Gerizim.  The  head  of  their  religion  must 
reside  at  Shechem.  In  1697,  Mr.  Maundrell  had  a 
personal  conference  with  the  Samaritan  chief-priest, 
on  the  subject  of  a  singular  discrepancy  between  the 
text  of  the  Samaritan  Pentateuch  and  the  received 
Hebrew  text.  The  passage  in  question  occurs  Deut. 
xxvii.  4 :  "  Therefore  it  shall  be,  when  ye  be  gone 
over  Jordan,  that  ye  shall  set  up  these  stones,  which 
I  command  you  this  day"  (inscribed  with  the  words  of 
the  law)  "  in  Mount  Ebal ;  and  thou  shalt  plaster 
them  with  plaster ;  and  there  shalt  thou  build  an 
altar  unto  the  Lord  thy  God."-f  The  Samaritan 

*  Gibbon,  vol.  vi.  chap.  4,' 

t  In  agreement  with  this,  Joshua  is  recorded  to  have  subse- 
quently built  the  altar  in  Mount  Ebal.  Josh.  viii.  30.  The  al- 
leged corruption  of  the  text  must,  therefore,  have  been  made  in 
both  places. 


252  PALESTINE;  OR, 

Pentateuch  has  Mount  Gerizim  in  this  place ;  and  tke 
chief-priest  contended  that  the  Jews  had  maliciously 
altered  the  Hebrew  text  out  of  odium  to  the  Samaritans ; 
"  putting,  for  Gerizim,  Ebal,  upon  no  other  account, 
but  only  because  the  Samaritans  worshipped  in   the 
former    mountain,  which  they   would   have  for  that 
reason  not  to  be  the  true  place  appointed  by  God  for 
his  worship  and  sacrifice.     To  confirm  this,  he  pleaded 
that  Ebal  was  the  mountain  of  cursing,  Deut.  xi.  29, 
and  in  its  own  nature  an  unpleasant  place ;  but,  on 
the  contrary,   Gerizim  was  the  mountain  of  blessing, 
by  God's  own  appointment,  and  also  in  itself  fertile 
and  delightful ;  from  whence  he  inferred  a  probability 
that  this  latter  must   have  been  the  true   mountain 
appointed  for  those  religious  festivals,  Deut.  xxvii.  4, 
and  not  (as  the  Jews  have  corruptly  written  it)  Hebal. 
We  observed  that  to  be  in  some  measure  true  which 
he  pleaded  concerning  the  nature  of  both  mountains ; 
for,  though  neither  of  the  mountains  has  much  to  boast 
of  as  to  their  pleasantness,  yet,  as  one  passes  between 
them,  Gerizim  seems  to  discover  a  somewhat  more 
verdant,  fruitful   aspect  than  Ebal.     The   reason   of 
which  may  be,  because  fronting  towards  the  north,  it 
is  sheltered  from  the  heat  of  the  sun  by  its  own  shade; 
whereas  Ebal,  looking  southward,  and  receiving  the 
sun  that  comes  directly  upon  it,  must,  by  consequence, 
be  rendered  more  scorched  and  unfruitful.     The  Sa- 
maritan priest  could  not  say  that  any  of  those  great 
stones  which   God  directed   Joshua  to  set  up,  were 
now  to  be  seen  in  Mount  Gerizim  ;  which  were  they 
now  extant,  would  determine  the  question  clearly  on 
his  side." 

Both  Mount  Gerizim  and  Mount  Ebal  deserve  to 
be  explored.  Their  altitude  appeared  to  Mr.  Bucking, 
ham  to  be  nearly  equal,  not  exceeding  7  or  800  feet 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  253 

from  the  level  of  the  valley,  which  is  itself  elevated. 
Captains  Irby  and  Mangles  are  the  only  modern 
travellers  who  appear  to  have  ascended  either.  They 
say :  "  We  went  to  the  summit  of  Mount  Gerizim, 
and  found  the  ruins  of  a  large  town,  with  a  tank 
near  a  conspicuous  sheikh's  tomb."  They  do  not 
appear,  however,  to  have  bestowed  much  attention 
on  these  ruins,  among  which  some  traces  of  their 
boasted  temple  must,  one  would  imagine,  be  still 
discernible ;  nor  do  they  notice  any  synagogue  there. 
Mount  Ebal  they  did  not  ascend.*  In  the  Itinerary 
of  Benjamin  of  Tudela,  the  Cutheans  are  stated  to 
offer  sacrifice  on  Mount  Gerizim,  on  an  altar  con- 
structed of  stones  brought  from  the  Jordan  by  the 
children  of  Israel.  He  describes  this  mountain  as 
full  of  fountains  and  gardens,  and  Ghebal  (Ebal) 
as  arid  and  rocky.  As  a  topographical  authority, 
the  Itinerary  is  unquestionable.  With  regard  to 
the  point  at  issue,  it  may  be  thought  only  to  state 
the  matter  agreeably  to  the  Samaritan  tradition. 
There  is  certainly  much  plausibility  in  the  arguments 
iri  favour  of  the  Samaritan  text ;  which,  in  many 
other  instances  of  variation  from  the  received  text, 
is  admitted  by  Biblical  critics  to  preserve  the  ge- 
nuine reading.  It  is  very  probable,  that  a  further 
collation  of  Hebrew  MSS.  will  throw  some  light  on 
the  question. 

The  town  is  governed  by  a  Mutsellim,  or  Beg, 
subject  to  the  Pasha  of  Damascus,  and  having  under 
his  command  about  400  Arnaout  soldiers.  The  pre- 
vailing costume  is  the  Turkish  dress :  the  women 
wear  a  coloured  veil,  concealing  the  whole  face,  a» 

*  Dr.  Richardson  says :  "  On  Mount  Ebal  we  saw  a  considerable 
village,  and  a  large  building  like  a  ruined  fort."  But  he  did  not 
ascend  its  summit* 

PART   II.  Q 


254  PALESTINE  ;    OR, 

in  the  towns  of  the  Yemen  ;  the  scarf  thrown  over 
the  head  and  shoulders  is  of  a  yellowish  white, 
with  a  deep  red  border.  Nablous  is  in  long.  35° 
22'  E.  lat.  32°  16'  N. ;  and  is  thirty. four  miles  N.  of 
Jerusalem. 

The  only  object  of  antiquity  noticed  by  travellers 
within  the  town,  is  the  eastern  front  of  a  ruined 
church,  the  site  of  which  is  now  occupied  by  one 
of  the  mosques.  It  presents  a  fine  pointed  arch, 
supported  by  Corinthian  columns,  the  Tipper  part 
highly  ornamented,  in  the  style  of  some  of  the 
Saracen  doors  in  Cairo :  within  are  seen  plain  granite 
pillars  ;  and  the  whole  exhibits,  Mr.  Buckingham  tells 
us,  a  singular  mixture  of  orders,  in  the  most  grotesque 
taste. 

Just  without  the  city,  towards  Jerusalem,  is  a  small 
mosque,  said  to  have  been  built  over  the  sepulchre 
purchased  by  the  patriarch  Jacob,  and  bearing  the 
name  of  Joseph's  Sepulchre :  it  is  at  the  foot  of 
Mount  Gerizim.  Mr.  Buckingham,  noticing  the 
Mahommedan  buildings  here,  "  either  mosques  or 
tombs,"  says,  they  are  now  called  Mdhmoodea.  "  On 
the  left,"  he  adds,  "  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Ebal,  were 
several  well-hewn  grottoes  in  the  rock,  some  with 
arched,  and  others  with  square  doors,  most  probably 
ancient  sepulchres."  They  were  called  Khallat  Roivgh- 
ban,  which  he  interprets  to  mean,  the  retreats  of 
hermits  ;  khallat  meaning  properly  a  castle,  and 
rowghban  being  a  name  given  in  Syria  to  monks. 
These  he  had  no  time  to  examine,  although  the  most 
interesting  antiquities  of  the  place.  That  these  caves 
may  have  been  used  as  places  of  retreat  or  ascetic 
seclusion,  is  very  probable  ;  but  there  is  no  room  to 
doubt  their  sepulchral  character.  They  may,  or  may 
not,  be  of  remote  antiquity ;  but  of  this  description, 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  255 

and  not  far  distant,  must  have  been  the  burial-place 
of  Joseph,  whose  bones  were  brought  up  out  of  Egypt 
to  be  laid  in  Shechem.     To  the  practice  of  burying  in 
the  sides  of  mountains,  we  have  repeated  references 
in  the  Old  Testament.     Abraham  was  buried  in  the 
Cave  of  Machpelah  before  Mamre  ;  Joshua,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Hill  of  Gaash  in  Ephraim  ;  *  Eleazar, 
the  son  of  Aaron,  in  a  hill  within  the  same  district ; 
and  Aaron  himself  in  Mount  Hor.-|-     The  "  parcel 
of  ground"  given  by  Jacob  to  his  son,  is  generally 
supposed  to  be  the  "  wide  field,"  as  Maundrell  terms 
it,  into  which  the  Valley  of  Sicheni  opens  at  the  Well 
of  Samaria  ;  and   which  he  describes  as  "  exceeding 
verdant  and   fruitful,"  being   watered  with  a  fresh 
stream,  rising  between  it  and  the  town.     The  precise 
limits  of  this  purchase  it  would  be  ridiculous  to  at- 
tempt to  ascertain.     All  that  we  know  is,  that  it  was 
near  Sichar,  "  before,"  or  eastward  of  the  city;  that 
it   contained    a    well  —  a  possession   of  the   greatest 
importance  in   those  parts  ;  and,  like  "  the  field  of 
Ephron"  purchased  by  Abraham, £  a  bury  ing- place. 
A  place  of  burial  seems  to  have  given  a  sacredness  to 
the  property  in  which  it  was  situated,  and  to  have 
rendered  the  inheritance  inalienable  ;  it  established  a 
right  of  proprietorship,  and,  connected  with  this,  what 
we  should  call  a  right  of  common  to  the  neighbouring 
pastures. §     Thus,  we  find  the  sons  of  Jacob  leaving 
their  father's  residence  in  Hebron,  to  feed  his  flocks 
in  Shechem, ||  by  virtue  of  this  right,  long  after  he 
had  been  compelled  to  remove  from  the   neighbour- 
hood.     The  burial-place  was,  no  doubt,  (as  that  of 

*  Gen.  xxv.  9.    Josh.  xxi\f.  22,  29. 

t  Num.  xx.  28.    Deut.  x.  6. 

±  Gen.  xxiii.  17.  -  §  Gen.  xxxiv.  5. 

y  Gen.  xxxvii.  J2— 14. 


256  PALESTINE;  OR, 

Abraham  and  that  of  Joshua  were,)  at  the  "  end  of 
the  field,"  on  the  "  border  of  the  inheritance,"  which 
must  have  been  Mount  Gerizim  itself;  and,  if  the 
mosque  should  prove  to  conceal  the  entrance  to  a 
lateral  excavation  or  grotto,  of  the  kind  universally 
chosen  for  sepulchres  of  distinguished  persons  by  the 
ancient  Jews,  it  may  possibly  mark  the  identical 
place  "  in  Shechem  where  the  bones  of  Joseph  were 
laid." 

Next  to  Jerusalem  itselt,  this  is,  perhaps,  the  most 
interesting  spot  in  the  Holy  Land,  as  connected  with 
those  events  transacted  in  the  fields  of  Sichem,  which, 
from  our  earliest  years,  are  remembered  with  delight. 
"  Along  the  valley,"  says  Dr.  Clarke,  "  we  beheld 
a  company  of  Ishmaelites  coming  from  Gilead,  as  in 
the  days  of  Reuben  and  Judah,  '  with  their  camels, 
bearing  spicery,  and  balm,  and  myrrh,'*  who  would 
gladly  have  purchased  another  Joseph  of  his  brethren, 
and  conveyed  him,  as  a  slave,  to  some  Potiphar  in 
Egypt.  Upon  the  hills  around,  flocks  and  herds  were 
feeding  as  of  old  ;  nor,  in  the  simple  garb  of  the 
shepherds  of  Samaria,  was  there  any  thing  to  contra- 
dict the  notions  we  may  entertain  of  the  appearance 
formerly  exhibited  by  the  sons  of  Jacob."  "  The 
morning  after  our  arrival,  we  met  caravans  coming 
from  Grand  Cairo,  and  noticed  others  reposing  in  the 
large  olive-plantations  near  the  gates." 

Leaving  Nablous,  the  road  lies  along  the  narrow 
vale,  and,  in  about  three  quarters  of  an  hour,  conducts 
the  traveller  to  a  copious  spring  of  good  water,  called 
Beer-sheba.  This,  Dr.  Richardson  says,  is  the 
broadest  and  best  cultivated  part  of  the  valley;  he 
saw  the  natives  busily  engaged  (May)  in  reaping  a 

*  Gen.  xxxvii.  25. 


THE  HOLY  LAND-  257 

scanty  crop  of  barley.  Maundrell  notices  a  village 
on  the  left  of  the  road  (going  northwards)  called 
Barseba,  deriving  its  name,  no  doubt,  from  this  well ; 
and,  half  an  hour  further,  another  village  which  he 
calls  Sherack.  After  leaving  Beer-sheba,  Dr.  Richard- 
son's account  makes  the  road  ascend.  "  In  about  a 
quarter  of  an  hour,"  he  says,  "  we  reached  the  top 
of  the  hill ;  and  as  we  wound  our  way  down  the  other 
side,  had  an  excellent  view  of  the  delightfully  situated 
Sebaste.  In  a  few  minutes  we  passed  a  ruined  aque- 
duct of  Roman  architecture,  and  pitched  our  tents  at 
the  bottom  of  the  hill,  nearly  opposite  to  its  unworthy 
successor,  a  poor  village  of  the  same  name ;  having 
travelled  this  day  about  nine  hours."  This  makes 
the  distance  from  Khan  Leban  about  twenty-seven 
miles,  but,  allowing  for  deviations  from  the  direct 
track,  twenty-four  miles,  and  sixteen  hours,  or  forty- 
eight  miles,  from  Jerusalem.  Josephus,  however, 
makes  it  but  one  day's  journey  from  the  capital.* 
It  is  six  miles  beyond  Napolose  ;  and  if  the  distance  of 
the  latter  place  is  correctly  given  by  our  authorities,  it 
cannot  exceed  forty  miles. 

Sebaste  is  the  name  which  Herod  gave  to  the 
ancient  Samaria,  the  imperial  city  of  the  ten  tribes, 
in  honour  of  Augustus  (Sebastos)  Caesar,  when  he 
rebuilt  and  fortified  it,  converting  the  greater  part 
of  it  into  a  citadel,  and  erecting  here  a  noble  temple. -f- 
"  The  situation,"  says  Dr.  Richardson,  "  is  extremely 
beautiful,  $  and  strong  by  nature ;  more  so,  I  think, 
than  Jerusalem.  It  stands  on  a  fine,  large,  insulated 

*  Joseph.  Antiq.  book  xv.  chap.  9.  f  Ibid. 

$  ««  It  is  situated  upon  a  long  mount,  of  an  oval  figure;  having 
first  a  fruitful  valley,  and  then  a  ring  of  hills  running  round 
about  it.  This  great  city  is  now  wholly  converted  into  gardens."— 
MAUNDRELL. 


268  PALESTINE;  OR, 

hill,  compassed  all  around  by  a  broad  deep  valley ;  and 
when  fortified,  as  it  is  stated  to  have  been  by  Herod, 
one  would  have  imagined  that,  in  the  ancient  system 
of  warfare,  nothing  but  famine  could  have  reduced 
such  a  place.  The  valley  is  surrounded  by  four  hills. 
one  on  each  side,  which  are  cultivated  in  terraces  up 
to  the  top,  sown  with  grain,  and  planted  with  fig  and 
olive  trees,  as  is  also  the  valley.  The  hill  of  Samaria 
likewise  rises  in  terraces  to  a  height  equal  to  any  of 
the  adjoining  mountains. 

"  The  present  village  is  small  and  poor,  and  after 
passing  the  valley,  the  ascent  to  it  is  very  steep. 
Viewed  from  the  station  of  our  tents,  it  is  extremely 
interesting,  both  from  its  natural  situation,  and  from 
the  picturesque  remains  of  a  ruined  convent,  of  good 
Gothic  architecture. 

"  Having  passed  the  village,  towards  the  middle  of 
the  first  terrace,  there  is  a  number  of  columns  still 
standing.  I  counted  twelve  in  one  row,  besides 
several  that  stood  apart,  the  brotherless  remains  of 
other  rows.  The  situation  is  extremely  delightful, 
and  my  guide  informed  me,  that  they  belonged  to  the 
serai,  or  palace.  On  the  next  terrace  there  are  no 
remains  of  solid  building,  but  heaps  of  stone  and  lime 
and  rubbish  mixed  with  the  soil  in  great  profusion. 
Ascending  to  the  third  or  highest  terrace,  the  traces 
of  former  building  were  not  so  numerous,  but  we 
enjoyed  a  delightful  view  of  the  surrounding  country. 
The  eye  passed  over  the  deep  valley  that  encompasses 
the  hill  of  Sebaste,  and  rested  on  the  mountains 
beyond,  that  retreated  as  they  rose  with  a  gentle 
slope,  and  met  the  view  in  every  direction,  like  a 
book  laid  out  for  perusal  on  a  reading-desk.  This 
\vas  the  seat  of  the  capital  of  the  short-lived  and 
wicked  kingdom  of  Israel ;  and  on  the  face  of  these 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  259 

mountains  the  eye  surveys  the. scene  of  many  bloody 
conflicts  and  many  memorable  events.  Here  those 
holy  men  of  God,  Elijah  and  Elisha,  spoke  their  tre- 
mendous warnings  in  the  ears  of  their  incorrigible 
rulers,  and  wrought  their  miracles  in  the  sight  of  all 
the  people. 

"  From  this  lofty  eminence  we  descended  to  the 
south  side  of  the  hill,  where  we  saw  the  remains  of 
a  stately  colonnade  that  stretches  along  this  beautiful 
exposure  from  east  to  west.  Sixty  columns  are  still 
standing  in  one  row.  The  shafts  are  plain,  and  frag- 
ments of  Ionic  volutes,  that  lie  scattered  about,  testify 
the  order  to  which  they  belonged.  These  are  probably 
the  relics  of  some  of  the  magnificent  structures  with 
which  Herod  the  Great  adorned  Samaria.  None  of 
the  walls  remain." 

Mr.  Buckingham  mentions  a  current  tradition, 
that  the  avenue  of  columns  formed  a  part  of  Herod's 
palace.  According  to  his  account,  there  were  eighty, 
three  of  these  columns  erect  in  1816,  besides  others 
prostrate  ;  all  without  capitals.  Josephus  states,  that, 
about  the  middle  of  the  city,  Herod  built  "  a  sacred 
place,  of  a  furlong  and  a  half  in  circuit,  and  adorned 
it  with  all  sorts  of  decorations  ;  and  therein  erected  a 
temple,  illustrious  for  both  its  largeness  and  beauty." 
It  is  probable  that  these  columns  belonged  to  it.  On 
the  eastern  side  of  the  same  summit  are  the  remains, 
Mr.  Buckingham  states,  of  another  building,  "  of 
which  eight  large  and  eight  small  columns  are  still 
standing,  with  many  others  fallen  near  them.  These 
also  are  without  capitals,  and  are  of  a  smaller  size  and 
of  an  inferior  stone  to  the  others."*  "  In  the  walls 


*  Maumirell  briefly  says:  "  All  the  tokens  that  remain  to  testify 
that  there  has  ever  been  such  a  place,  are  onlv.  on  the  north  side,  «i 


260  PALESTINE;  OR, 

of  the  humble  dwellings  forming  the  modern  village, 
*  portions  of  sculptured  blocks  of  stone  are  perceived, 
and  even  fragments  of  granite  pillars  have  been 
worked  into  the  masonry."  The  Gothic  convent 
referred  to  by  Dr.  Richardson,  is  the  ruined  cathe- 
dral, attributed,  like  every  thing  else  of  the  kind  in 
Palestine,  to  the  Empress  Helena.  It  stands  east 
and  west,  and  is  about  100  feet  in  length,  by  50  in 
breadth.  "  On  the  south  side  are  high,  slender  but- 
tresses ;  and  on  a  piece  of  building  without  this,  is 
a  sloping  pyramidal  mole,  constructed  of  exceedingly 
large  stones.  The  northern  wall  is  quite  plain  ;  the 
eastern  front  is  semi -circular,  with  three  open  and 
two  closed  windows,  each  contained  in  arches  divided 
from  each  other  by  three  Corinthian  columns.  The 
interior  of  the  eastern  front  has  a  pointed  arch,  and 
columns  of  no  known  order ;  though  the  capitals 
approach  nearer  to  the  Corinthian  than  any  other. 
The  eight  small  arches  which  go  round  the  tops  of 
the  widows  within,  are  semi -circular,  and  have  each 
at  their  spring  the  capital  of  a  column,  but  no  shaft 
attached  to  it ';  the  great  arch  of  the  recess  is  pointed, 
and  the  moulding  that  passes  round  it  is  fantastic  in 
the  extreme.  Among  other  things  seen  there,  are  the 
representations  of  scaly  armour,  an  owl,  an  eagle,  a 
human  figure,  and  an  angel,  all  occupying  separate 
compartments,  and  all  distinct  from  each  other. 

"  The  exterior  of  the  eastern  front  presents  a  still 
more  singular  mixture  of  style,  as  the  pointed  and  the  - 
round  arch  are  both  used  in  the  same  range,  and  the 
ornaments  of  each  are  varied.     In  the  lower  cornice 

large  square  piazza,  encompassed  with  pillars  ;  and  on  the  east, 
some  poor  remains  of  a  great  church,  said  to  have  been  built  by 
the  Empress  Helena,  over  the  place  where  St.  John  Baptist  was 
both  imprisoned  and  beheaded." 


THE  HOLY   LAND.  261 

are  human  heads,  perhaps  in  allusion  to  the  severed^ 
head  of  the  Baptist ;  and  there  are  here  as  fantastic 
figures  as  on  the  inside,  the  whole  presenting  a 
strange  assemblage  of  incongruous  ornaments  in  the 
most  wretched  taste. 

"  The  masonry  appears  in  some  parts  to  have  been 
exceedingly  solid,  in  others  only  moderately  good, 
and  in  some  places  weak  and  paltry ;  and  at  the  west 
end,  in  a  piece  of  building,  apparently  added  since  the 
original  construction  of  the  church  itself,  are  seen 
several  blocks  of  sculptured  stone,  apparently  taken 
from  the  ruins,  and  worked  into  the  present  masonry 
there. 

"  On  the  inside  of  this  ruined  edifice  is  a  small 
mosque,  erected  over  the  supposed  dungeon  in  which 
St.  John  was  executed  ;  and  an  Arab  family,  who 
claim  the  guardianship  of  this  sanctuary,  have  pitched 
their  dwelling  on  the  south-west  angle  of  the  great 
church,  where  it  has  the  appearance  of  a  pigeon-house. 
On  learning  that  I  was  a  Moslem,  we  were  all  ad- 
mitted into  this  mosque,  which  we  entered  with  be- 
coming reverence.  They  have  collected  here  the 
white  marble  slabs,  found  amid  the  ruins  of  the 
church,  to  form  a  pavement ;  and  in  one  part  we 
noticed  three  large  pieces,  with  sculptured  circles  and 
bands  on  them,  which  were  set  up  in  the  wall  as 
tablets. 

"•  The  mosque  itself  is  a  small  oblong  room,  with 
steps  ascending  to  an  oratory,  and  its  only  furniture 
is  a  few  simple  lamps  and  some  clean  straw  mats  for 
prayer,  the  recess  of  the  Caaba  being  in  the  southern 
wall.  From  the  mosque,  we  descended  by  a  narrow 
flight  of  steps  to  the  subterranean  chamber  or  dun- 
geon of  St.  John,  which  had  all  the  appearance  of 
having  been  an  ancient  sepulchre.  It  was  not  more 
Q2 


<J62  PALESTINE;  OR, 

than  ten  feet  square ;  and  had  niches,  as  if  for  the  re- 
ception of  corpses,  in  arched  recesses  on  each  side. 
There  was  here,  too,  one  of  those  remarkable  stone 
doors,  which  seem  to  have  been  exclusively  appropriated 
to  tombs,  resembling  exactly  in  form  and  size  those 
described  in  the  Roman  sepulchres  at  Oom  Kais.  The 
panneling,  the  lower  pivot,  and  the  sill  in  the  ledge 
for  receiving  the  bolt,  were  all  still  perfect ;  but  the 
door  was  now  unhung,  and  lay  on  its  side  against 
the  wall."  . 

In  the  court  at  the  west  end  of  the  church  are 
"  two  apertures  leading  down  to  a  large  subterranean 
reservoir  for  water,  well  stuccoed  on  the  inside,  and 
during  the  rains  often  filled  to  the  brim." 

The  modern  Sebaste  is  governed  by  its  own  shiekh, 
who  is  himself  a  husbandman  :  the  natives  pronounce 
the  name  of  the  place  Subusta. 

The  route  taken  by  Dr.  Richardson  now  passes  over 
the  mountain  to  the  east  of  Sebaste,  and  then  descends 
to  a  ruined  building  called  by  the  natives  Beit  Emi- 
reeii  (the  house  of  the  two  princes),  near  a  village 
of  the  same  name,  by  a  stream  of  water.  "  Leaving 
this  valley,"  he  continues,  "  we  crossed  the  mountain 
to  the  left,  and  after  travelling  about  an  hour  along 
a  very  rough  and  stony  ravine,  we  came  to  the  village 
of  Gibba,  which  is  surrounded  with  olive  and  pome- 
granate trees,  the  latter  of  which  were  in  full  blow, 
and  occupies  a  lofty  station  to  overlook  a  small  vafley. 
From  Gibba,  we  proceeded  along  the  valley  to  San- 
nour,  which  is  a  fort  erected  on  an  insulated  moun- 
tain that  springs  up  in  the  middle  of  the  valley.  It  is 
commonly  called  Khallah  Giurali,  or  Fort  Jurali,  from 
Giurali,  ( Jerar  ?)  the  name  of  the  chief  who  commands 
the  country.  A  few  miles  further  on,  we  came  to 
Abata,  a  pleasant  village  on  our  right,  and  similarly 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  263 

situated  to  Gibba,  among  olive  and  pomegranate  trees. 
The  inhabitants  are  said  to  be  particularly  hospitable 
and  kind  to  strangers.  We  did  not  stop  to  put  their 
hospitality  to  the  test,  but  continued  our  route  along 
the  narrow  dell,  and  having  crossed  another  moun- 
tain on  the  left,  opened  the  beautiful  vale  of  Esdraelon, 
and  the  town  of  Jenin,  pleasantly  situated  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountain.  We  descended  to  a  level  piece  of 
stony  ground  which  bore  a  tolerably  good  crop  of 
thistles,  and  pitched  our  tents  on  the  outside  of  the 
town,  having  travelled  this  day  about  eight  hours  and 
a  half." 

Sannour,  or  Sanhoor,  called  by  Dr.  Clarke  Sari- 
torri,  deserves  a  more  particular  notice.  He  makes 
it  three  hours,  or  nine  miles,  from  Jenin.  The  castle, 
which  he  describes  as  very  much  resembling  the  eld 
castellated  buildings  in  England,  is  very  strong  :  it 
held  out  against  Djezzar  Pasha,  when  he  held  the 
pashalic  of  Damascus,  for  two  months,  and  he  was 
compelled  at  last  to  raise  the  siege.  In  the  time  of 
the  Crusades  it  must  have  been  impregnable.  "  Yet." 
says  Dr.  Clarke,  "  there  is  no  account  of  it  in  any 
author ;  and  certainly  it  is  not  of  later  construction 
than  the  period  of  the  holy  wars."  If  the  learned 
traveller  has  given  the  present  name  correctly,  it 
would  seem,  both  from  the  meaning  and  the  language 
of  the  word,  holy  tower,  to  date  from  the  Crusades. 
But,  doubtless,  the  site  is  noticed  by  the  older  writers, 
under  its  original  name.  Their  supposed  silence, 
however,  tempted  Dr.  Clarke  to  hazard  the  strange 
conjecture  that  it  n  ight  be  the  site  of  Samaria;  for, 
in  his  gallop  through  the  Holy  Land,  he  forgot  to 
visit,  or  overlooked  Sebaste  !  The  hill  commands  the 
view  to  the  northward  of  a  fine  broad  valley,  bounded 
by  other  hills  on  every  side,  about  two  miles  in  breadth 


264  PALESTINE;  OR, 

and  live  in  length :  the  valley  southward  is  narrower, 
and  both  are  cultivated.  The  ascent  is  steep  on  all 
sides.  The  Avails  of  the  town  are  strongly  built,  "  ap- 
parently," says  Mr.  Buckingham,  "  of  old  Saracenic 
work,"  and  in  circuit  less  than  half  a  mile,  with  two 
gates  in  opposite  quarters.  The  houses  are  well  built, 
but  the  streets  are  narrow  ;  the  inhabitants  all  Ma- 
hommedans.  The  governor  (then  Hadje  Ahmed 
Jerar)  is  tributary  to  Damascus,  but  absolute  within 
his  own  territory,  which  includes  several  towns  and 
villages,  with  extensive  lands  around  them,  of  which 
he  is  as  it  were  the  feudal  lord.  Hadje  Ahmed  is 
described  as  of  a  most  amiable  and  patriarchal  cha- 
racter ;  and  the  aspect  of  the  country  bore  the  most 
pleasing  marks  of  the  benign  influence  of  his  mild  and 
paternal  government. 

Jennin,  or  Genin,  (pronounced  Djenneen,)  the  an- 
cient Ginaia,  or  Ginaea,  and  supposed  to  be  the  Geman 
of  Josephus,  was  the  frontier  town  of  Samaria  on  the 
border  of  Galilee ;  being  situated  at  the  entrance  of 
the  great  plain.  It  is  mentioned  by  Josephus  as  the 
scene  of  a  battle  between  the  Galileans,  who  were 
going  up  to  Jerusalem  to  the  feast  of  tabernacles,  and 
the  natives.*  It  is  now  a  mere  village,  containing 
about  800  inhabitants  ;  but  there  are  evidences  of  its 
having  once  been  of  much  greater  extent.  There  are 
the  remains  of  a  Christian  convent  on  the  outside  of 
the  walls,  now  partly  occupied  by  a  Turkish  cemetery. 
Within  the  town,  Dr.  Clarke  observed  the  ruins xof  a 
palace  and  a  mosque,  with  marble  pillars,  fountains, 
and  even  piazzas,  some  in  a  very  perfect  state.  An 
Arabic  inscription  over  one  of  these  buildings,  purports 


*  Joseph.  Wars,  book  ii.  chap.  /2.    See  also  Antiq.  book  xx. 
chap.  6. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  265 

\ 

that  it  was  erected  by  an  individual  of  the  name  of 
Selim.  As  a  fence  to  the  gardens,  Dr.  Clarke  noticed 
the  cactus  ficus  Indicus,  growing  to  so  enormous  a 
size,  that  the  stem  was  larger  than  a  man's  body ;  and 
its  gaudy  blossoms  made  a  most  splendid  show  in  the 
midst  of  its  bristly  spines. 

The  route  from  Jennin  to  Nazareth  lies  directly 
across  the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  a  distance  of  seven 
hours,  or  twenty-one  miles.  Nearly  in  the  middle 
of  the  plain  is  the  line  of  separation  between  the 
pashalics  of  Acre  and  of  Damascus.  The  road  to 
Tiberias,  which  we  are  now  to  follow,  proceeds  east- 
ward along  this  beautiful  vale ;  watered,  in  this  part, 
by  a  fertilizing  stream,  which,  says  Dr.  Richardson, 
"  we  crossed  and  re-crossed  several  times  in  our 
inarch.  In  four  hours  after  leaving  Jennin,  we  came 
to  the  source,  where  it  issues  in  a  large  current  from 
the  rock,  and  is  called  El  Geleed,  or  the  cold.  In  two 
hours  more  we  came  to  Bisan.  The  delightful  vale 
of  Esdraelon  is  but  thinly  inhabited,  and  not  half 
cultivated  or  stocked  with  cattle.  We  did  not  pass 
a  single  village,  and  saw  but  few  Bedoween  encamp- 
ments till  we  came  near  to  Bisan.  As  we  approached 
this  miserable  village,  we  gradually  withdrew  from 
the  vale,  and  got  upon  an  elevated  rocky  flat,  covered 
with  a  thin  and  meagre  sprinkling  of  earth  ;  the  vege- 
tation which  it  bore  was  scanty,  and  quite  brown 
from  the  lack  of  moisture.  The  valley  of  the  Jordan 
began  to  open  on  our  view,  and,  before  we  came  up  to 
the  village,  we  passed  the  remains  of  a  Roman  fortress 
and  a  Roman  theatre,  Avith  many  vaults*  and  columns, 
on  the  left  of  our  route.  The  village  itself  is  a  col- 
lection  of  the  most  miserable  hovels,  containing  about 

*  S  upposed  to  be  the  ruins  of  subterranean  granaries. 


266  PALESTINE;  OR, 

200  inhabitants ;  and,  on  looking  at  their  wretched 
accommodation,  and  comparing  it  with  a  Bedoween 
encampment  that  was  spread  out  at  a  little  distance 
in  the  valley,  we  were  not  surprised  to  hear  that, 
in  these  countries,  the  dwellers  in  tents  look  on  the 
dwellers  in  towns  as  an  inferior  class  of  beings." 

The  young  emir,  or  chief  of  the  Arabs  of  Bisan, 
who  waited  on  Lord  Belmore,  arrayed  in  his  black 
abba  and  yellow  boots,  is  described  as  a  mild-tempered, 
intelligent  youth  ;  but  the  rest  of  the  inhabitants  had 
the  most  ruffian-like  and  depraved  appearance. 

Bisan,  the  Bethsan  or  Bethshan  of  Scripture,  *  is 
the  Scythopolis  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  writers.  It 
was  the  largest  city  of  the  Decapolis,  and  the  only 
one  on  that  side  of  the  Jordan.  The  theatre  is  quite 
distinct,  and  measures  about  180  feet  in  length  ;  it  is 
completely  filled  with  weeds.  In  one  of  the  most  con- 
cealed vomitories,  Captain  Mangles  states,  that  they 
found  twenty-four  human  skulls,  with  other  bones. 
A  viper  was  basking  in  one  of  the  skulls,  with  his 
body  twisted  between  the  eyes,  — "  a  good  subject  for 
a  moralizer."  In  some  of  the  tombs  which  lie  to  the 
N.E.  of  the  acropolis,  without  the  walls,  there  re- 
mained sarcophagi ;  and,  in  a  few  instances,  the  doors 
were  still  hanging  on  their  ancient  hinges  of  stone  ; 
they  observed  also  niches  of  a  triangular  shape  for 
lamps.  Two  streams  run  through  the  ruins  of  the 
city,  almost  insulating  the  acropolis  :  over  the  one  to 
the  S.W.  is  a  fine  Roman  bridge,  beyond  which  may 
be  seen  the  paved  way  which  led  to  the  ancient 
Ptolemais  (Acre).  These  streams  afterwards  unite, 

*  Josh.  xvii.  11 ;  1  Sam.  xxxi.  12;  1  Kings  iv.  12.  It  was  one 
of  the  towns  which  Manasseh  had  in  Issachar.  To  the  wall  of 
Bethsan  the  Philistines  fastened  the  bodies  of  Saul  and  his  three 
sons,  after  they  had  fallen  in  Mount  Gilboa. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  267 

and  are  crossed  by  another  bridge,  Laving  one  high 
arch  in  the  centre,  and  two  smaller  ones,  which  have 
been  walled  up ;  along  the  outer  edge  of  this  bridge, 
the  wall  of  the  city  was  continued  ;  and  on  the  hill, 
near  the  arch,  the  ruins  of  one  of  the  gates  of  the  city 
are  distinguishable ;  there  are  some  prostrate  columns 
of  the  Corinthian  order.  The  acropolis  is  a  high 
circular  hill,  on  the  top  of  which  are  the  traces  of  the 
ancient  walls  of  the  fortress.*  Dr.  Richardson  noticed 
masses  of  ejected  lava  scattered  round  the  village  ;  and 
the  mountains,  he  says,  have  the  appearance  of  extinct 
volcanoes. 

Pursuing  the  route  to  Tiberias,  up  the  delightful 
plain  of  the  Jordan,  the  traveller  has  on  his  left 
Mount  Gilboa,  which  comes  close  to  Bisan,  and  bounds 
the  plain  on  the  west.  The  natives  still  call  it  Djebel 
Gilbo.  It  is  a  lengthened  ridge,  rising  up  in  peaks, 
about  800  feet  above  the  level  of  the  road,  and  pro- 
bably 1000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  Jordan.  On 
the  east,  the  plain  is  bounded  by  a  high  mountain 
range,  which  forms  part  of  Mount  Gilead,  so  that  the 
view  on  both  sides  is  extremely  interesting ;  and  at 
the  time  of  Dr.  Richardson's  journey  (May),  rich  crops 
of  barley,  apparently  over-ripe,  added  to  the  beauty  of 
the  landscape.  After  riding  for  nearly  three  hours, 
the  route  led  them  to  the  banks  of  the  Jordan,  where 
it  is  crossed  by  a  large  stone  bridge,  consisting  of  one 
large  and  two  smaller  arches.  Here  a  large  khan  has 
been  built  for  the  accommodation  of  travellers  who 
take  the  road  to  Damascus  through  the  Decapolis  and 
Mount  Gilead.  The  river  at  this  point  is  of  a  con- 
siderable  depth,  and  between  thirty  and  forty  feel 
wide ;  the  channel  very  stony,  and  the  waters  of  a 

*  Irbv  and  Wangles,  pp.  302,  303. 


268  PALESTINE;  OK, 

u  white  sulphureous  colour,"  but  free  from  any  un- 
pleasant smell  or  taste.  Near  Bisan,  its  width  is  one 
hundred  and  forty  feet,  and  the  current  is  much  more 
rapid.  Beyond  the  bridge,  the  plain  of  the  Jordan 
narrows  into  a  valley,  and  the  river  remains  in  sight 
till  the  traveller  arrives  at  the  shores  of  the  Lake  of 
Tiberias  :  a  distance  of  about  eight  hours,  or  twenty- 
four  miles  from  Bisan.* 

Tiberias,  still  called  by  the  natives  Tabaria,  or 
Tabbareeah,  was  anciently  one  of  the  principal  towns 
of  Galilee.  It  was  built  by  Herod  the  Tetrarch,  and 
named  by  him  in  honour  of  Tiberias  the  Roman 
emperor,  with  whom  he  was  a  great  favoiirite.-f-  Very 
considerable  privileges  were  granted  to  those  who 
chose  to  settle  there,  in  order  to  overcome  the  pre- 
judice arising  from  the  city's  having  been  built  on 
a  site  full  of  ancient  sepulchres  ;  from  which  circum- 
stance we  may  infer  the  existence  of  a  former  city 

*  The  river  Jordan,  on  issuing  from  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  flows 
for  about  three  hours  near  the  western  hills:  it  then  turns  to- 
wards the  eastern,  on  which  Fide  it  continues  its  course  for  several 
hours,  till,  at  Korn-d-Hemar,  it  returns  to  the  western  side. 
Burckhardt  gives  the  following  list  of  the  torrents  or  rivulets 
which  descend  from  the  mountains  on  either  side,  leaving  in 
summer  numerous  pools  of  stagnant  water.  From  the  western 
mountains,  beginning  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  Lake  of 
Tiberias,  Wady  Fedjaz,  Ain-el-Szammera,  Wady  Djaloud,  Wady- 
el-Byre,  and  Wady-el-Oeshe ;  all  to  the  north  of  Bisan.  Below 
it,  Wady-el-Maleh,  Wady  Medjedda  (with  a  ruined  town  so  called), 
Wady-el-Beydham  (coming  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Nablous), 
and  Wady-el-Farah.  From  the  eastern  mountains,  Sheriat-el- 
Mandhour,  Wady-el-Arab,  Wady-el-Koszeir,  Wady-el-Taybe,  and 
Wady-el-Seklab  (near  the  village  Erbayn) ;  all  to  the  north  of  the 
ford  near  Bisan.  Beyond  it,  Wady  Mous,  Wady  Yabes,  Wady 
Amata,  aad  Wady  Zerka,  which  divide  the  district  of  Moerad 
from  El  Belka. 

|  Joseph.  Antiq.  lib.  xviii.  cap.  3 ;  De  Bell.  lib.  ii.  ca\>.  8. 


THE   HOLY   LAXD.  269 

in  the  vicinity :    this  is  supposed  to  have  been  the 
ancient   Cinneroth   or  Kinnereth.      Here,    during   a 
visit  paid  to  the  city  by  Herod  Agrippa,  the  kings  of 
Comagene,  of  Emessa,    of  the  Lesser   Armenia,  of 
Pontus,  and  of  Chalcis,  met  to  do  him  honour,  and 
were  magnificently  entertained.*     After  the  downfall 
of  Jerusalem,  it  continued  to  be,  until  the  fifth  century, 
the  residence  of  Jewish  rabbies  and  learned  men  ;  and 
was  the  seat  of  a  patriarch,  who  acted  as  the  supreme 
judge  between  persons  of  his  own  nation.     The  office 
was  hereditary,  and  was  supported  with  some  lustre, 
under  the  Emperor  Hadrian,  in  the  person  of  Selim 
III. ;  but,  in  the  year  429,  it  was  suppressed,  after 
subsisting  350  years,  under  nine  or  ten  patriarchs. 
In  the  sixth  century,  according  to  Procopius,  Justi- 
nian rebuilt  the  walls.      In  the  seventh,  A.D.  640, 
during  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Heraclius,  the  city 
was  taken  by  the    Saracens   under  Caliph   Omar,  -j- 
Yet,  in  the  eighth,  it  is  mentioned  in  an  Itinerary 
cited  by  Reland,  as  still  containing  many  churches 
and  Jewish  synagogues.     Pococke,  without  citing  his 
authority,  says,  that  the  Jewish  rabbins  lived  here  till 
the  eleventh  century,  but  that  the  Jews  had  left  the 
place  above  eight  hundred  years.     It  seems  doubtful, 
however,  whether  it  has  ever  been  wholly  deserted 
by  them.     Tiberias  was  an  ancient  seat   of  Jewish 
literature.      A  university  was   founded   here  by  the 
patriarch,  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  ;  and  it  is  re- 
markable,  that  there  is  a  college  of  Jews  in  Tabaria  at 
the   present  time :    it  would  be  very  interesting  to 
ascertain  the  date  of  its  establishment.     Dr.  Richard- 
son found  six  rabbies  engaged  in  studying  Hebrew 

*  Joseph.  Antiq.  lib.  xix.  cap.  /• 

*  Basnage's  History  of  the  Jews,  cited  by  Van  Egmont,  vol.  11. 
p.  30-    Clarke's  Travels,  vol.  iv.  p.  222. 


270  PALESTINE;  OR, 

folios.  "  They  occupied  two  large  rooms,  which  were 
surrounded  with  books,  and  said  they  spent  their 
time  entirely  in  studying  the  Scriptures  and  com- 
mentaries thereon.  I  regretted  much,"  adds  Dr.  R., 
"  that  I  had  not  been  apprised  of  this  institution  at 
an  earlier  part  of  the  day.  Not  having  an  interpreter 
with  me,  I  could  not  turn  my  short  interview  to  the 
same  advantage  that  I  should  otherwise  have  done." 

The  modern  town  of  Tabaria  is  situated  close  to 
the  edge  of  the  lake.  It  has  tolerably  high  but  ill- 
built  walls  on  three  of  its  sides,  flanked  with  circular 
towers ;  on  the  fourth,  it  is  open  to  the  water.  Its 
figure  is  nearly  quadrangular ;  *  according  to  Pococke, 
it  is  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  length,  and  half  that 
in  breadth  ;  in  circumference,  therefore,  about  three 
quarters  of  a  mile.  Like  all  Turkish  citadels,  it  has 
an  imposing  appearance  from  without ;  and  its  fortifi- 
cations and  circular  towers  give  it  more  the  aspect  of 
a  Moorish  city  than  most  of  the  towns  in  Palestine. 
But  it  exhibits  the  utmost  wretchedness  within  the 
walls,  one-fourth  of  the  space  being  wholly  unoc- 
cupied, and  the  few  houses  or  huts  which  it  contains 
are  not  built  contiguously.  The  sheikh's  house  is 
described  by  Van  Egmont  as  tolerably  good,  and 
indeed  the  only  building  that  deserves  the  name ; 
and  even  this  owes  its  beauty  to  the  ruins  out  of 
which  it  is  built.  Adjoining  to  it  is  a  large  hand- 
some structure,  which  serves  as  a  stable.  Near  the 
sheikh's  house  are  the  ruins  of  a  very  large  castle, 
with  some  remains  of  towers,  moats,  and  other  works, 

*  Mr.  Buckingham  says,  "  in  the  form  of  an  irregular  crescent." 
"  The  southern  wall  approaches  close  to  the  beach ;  but  the  north- 
western angle  of  the  northern  wall,  being  seated  on  a  rising  ground, 
recedes  some  little  distance  from  the  water,  and  gives  an  irregular 
form  to  the  enclosure." 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  271 

which  probably  commanded  the  harbour.  One  of 
these  works,  facing  the  lake,  has  been  turned  into  a 
mosque.  On  the  rising  ground  to  the  northward  of 
the  ruin,  stands  the  modern  castle,  which  dates  only  a 
few  years  before  the  period  of  Pococke's  visit.  Has- 
selquist  informs  us,  that  it  owes  its  erection  to  Sheikh 
Daker,  a  native  of  Tiberias,  and  at  that  time  inde- 
pendent lord  of  the  place,  which  he  had  recently 
defended  against  the  Pasha  of  Seide.  "  He  had  no 
more  than  six  small  iron  cannon  in  this  work  of 
defence ;  but  he  used  another  method,  still  more  an- 
cient than  cannons,  for  defending  forts.  He  ordered 
loose  stones  to  be  laid  on  the  top  of  the  wall,  four  feet 
high,  which,  in  case  of  a  siege,  might  be  rolled  down, 
and  crush  the  besiegers."  The  marks  of  the  siege 
were  then  to  be  seen  on  the  walls.  Pococke,  who 
preceded  Hasselquist  about  thirteen  years,  was  at 
Tiberias  when  the  fort  was  building,  and  they  were 
strengthening  the  old  walls  with  buttresses  on  the 
inside,  the  sheikh  then  having  a  dispute  with  the 
Pasha  of  Damascus.  "  They  have  often,"  he  adds, 
"  had  disputes  with  the  pashas  of  Damascus,  who 
have  come  and  planted  their  cannon  against  the  city, 
and  sometimes  have  beaten  down  part  of  the  walls, 
but  were  never  able  to  take  it."  The  town  has  only 
two  gates ;  one  near  the  sheikh's  house,  facing  the 
sea ;  the  other,  which  was  very  large,  is  partly  Availed 
up,  the  city  on  that  side  being  uninhabited.*  The 
houses  are  described  by  Van  Egmont  as  "  very  mean 


»  "  There  ate  two  gaus  visible  from  without,  one  near  the 
southern,  and  the  other  in  the  western  wall;  the  latter,  which 
is  in  one  of  the  round  towers,  is  the  only  one  now  open :  there 
are  appearances  also  of  the  town  having  been  surrounded  with  a 
ditch,  but  this  is  now  filled  up  with  cultivable  soil."  —  BUCK- 
INGHAM. 


272  PALESTINE;  OR, 

and  low  cottages,  some  of  stone,  and  others  of  dried 
mud,  and  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  above  the  ground. 
On  the  terraces,  which  even  the  huts  in  this  country 
are  not  without,  they  build  tents  of  rushes."  Mr. 
Buckingham  states,  that  there  are  two  synagogues 
near  the  centre  of  the  town,  both  of  them  inferior 
to  that  of  Jerusalem,  though  similar  in  design  ;  and, 
on  the  rising  ground  near  the  northern  quarter,  a 
small,  but  good  bazar,  and  two  or  three  coffee-sheds. 

The  only  interesting  relic  of  antiquity  in  the  town, 
is  the  church  dedicated  to  St.  Peter;  an  oblong  square 
edifice,  arched  over,  said  to  be  on  the  spot  where 
the  house  of  St.  Peter  was,  though  St.  Peter  lived  at 
Capernaum.*  It  stands  at  the  north-east  corner  of 
the  town,  close  to  the  water's  edge,  and  is  described 
by  Mr.  Buckingham  as  a  vaulted  room,  about  thirty 
feet  by  fifteen,  and  perhaps  fifteeen  feet  in  height : 
over  the  door  is  one  small  window,  and  on  each  side 
four  others,  all  arched  and  open.-j-  Van  Egmont  says, 

*  In  justice  to  the  original  inventor  of  the  legend,  it  should  be 
mentioned,  that  this  is  a  modem  blunder  of  the  monks.  Boni- 
facius  states,  that  the  building  erected  by  Helena  marked  the  spot 
where  our  Lord  appeared  to  Peter,  after  his  resurrection ;  as  re- 
corded John  xxi.  1. 

t  This  seems  to  be  the  ancient  church  described  by  Dr.  Clarke 
to  which,  he  says,  "  we  descended  by  steps,  as  into  the  church 
of  St.  Sophia  at  Constantinople,  and  some  other  early  Christian 
sanctuaries,  where  the  entrance  resembles  that  of  a  cellar,  daylight 
being  rarely  admitted.  There  is  reason  to  believe,"  he  adds, 
"  that  this  was  the  first  place  of  Christian  worship  erected  in 
Tiberias,  and  that  it  was  constructed  as  early  as  the  fourth  cen- 
tury. The  roof  is  of  stone,  and  it  is  vaulted.  We  could  discover 

no  inscription,  nor  any  other  clue  to  its  origin. Its  arched 

stone  roof,  yet  existing  entire,  renders  it  worthy  of  more  particular 
attention."  — Vol.  iv.  p.  215.  Captain  Mangles  controverts  the 
opinion  of  its  remote  antiquity ;  stating,  that  after  they  had  been 
there  a  few  days,  they  observed  on  one  of  the  stones  of  the  building, 
part  of  an  inverted  Arabic  inscription. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  273 

that  it  is  used  at  present  as  a  stable  ;  and  they  accord- 
ingly put  up  their  horses  there.  The  ancient  town 
extended  about  half  a  mile  further  to  the  south  than 
the  present  walls,  as  is  indicated  by  a  great  number 
of  confused  ruins ;  and  Pococke  observed,  that  the 
suburbs  extended  still  further  in  the  same  direction. 
Near  the  present  town,  he  says,  there  are  ruins  of 
another  church  ;  and  further  on,  some  signs  of  a 
large  square  building,  about  which  lie  several  pillars, 
which  might  be  the  house  of  the  government.  Captain 
Mangles  states,  that  u  at  the  northern  extremity  of 
the  ruins  are  the  remains  of  the  ancient  town,  which 
are  discernible  by  means  of  the  walls  and  other  ruined 
buildings,  as  well  as  by  fragments  of  columns,  some 
of  which  are  of  beautiful  red  granite."  This  agrees 
with  Van  Egmont's  representation,  that  the  old  city 
began  at  some  distance  to  the  north  of  the  present 
town,  extending  along  the  side  of  the  lake  beyond  the 
Baths  of  Emmaus,  which  are  about  a  mile  from  the 
modern  town,  to  the  south  of  it.  "  In  our  way 
thither,"  says  the  last-mentioned  traveller,  "  we 
plainly  saw  the  foundations  of  the  old  city,  and  the 
remains  of  bulwarks  erected  on  frustums  of  pillars. 
In  short,  the  whole  road  to  the  bath,  and  even 
some  distance  beyond  it,  was  full  of  ruins  of  walls  ; 
and  near  it  we  saw  the  ruins  of  a  gate."  These  walls 
were  continued  to  the  mountains  which  confined  the 
city  towards  the  west,  so  that  its  breadth  could  not 
exceed  half  a  mile.  The  wall  beyond  the  baths,  which 
runs  from  the  lake  to  the  mountain's  side,  is,  however, 
supposed  by  Mr.  Bankes  to  be  rather  the  fortification 
of  Vespasian's  camp.  Pococke  places  the  baths  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  south  of  the  walls  of  old  Tiberias. 
The  ancient  name  of  Emmaus,  which  signifies  baths, 
is  still  preserved  in  the  Arabic  Hamam,  by  which  the 


274  PALESTINE;  OR, 

place  is  now  called.  The  waters  are  much  resorted  to, 
being  esteemed  good  for  all  sorts  of  pains  and  tumours, 
and  even  for  the  gout.  Dr.  Richardson  found  the 
Pasha  of  Acre  encamped  here,  with  a  numerous 
retinue  ;  having  been  advised  to  use  the  baths,  by 
his  medical  attendant,  who  was  a  Frank.  At  a  little 
distance  from  him,  Lady  Hester  Stanhope  had  taken 
up  her  residence  in  a  mosque.  "  Not  having  any 
thermometer,"  says  Dr.  R.,  "  I  could  not  ascertain 
the  temperature  of  the  spring ;  but  it  is  so  hot,  that 
the  hand  could  not  endure  it ;  and  the  water  must 
remain  twelve  hours  in  the  bath,  before  it  can  be 
used ;  and  then  I  should  consider  it  as  above  100°. 
It  contains  a  strong  solution  of  common  salt,  with  a 
considerable  intermixture  of  iron  and  sulphur."  Po- 
cocke,  who  brought  away  a  bottle  of  the  waters,  says, 
that  they  were  found  to  hold  a  considerable  quantity 
of  "  gross  fixed  vitriol,  some  alum,  and  a  mineral  salt." 
He  observed  a  red  sediment  upon  the  stones.  Van 
Egmont  and  Heyman  state,  that  they  resemble  in 
quality  those  of  Aix  la  Chapelle.  "  Our  curiosity." 
they  say,  "  led  us  to  go  into  the  bath,  the  water  of 
which  was  to  hot  as  not  easily  to  be  endured ;  but, 
to  render  it  more  temperate,  we  ordered  the  passage 
through  which  it  runs  into  the  basin,  to  be  stopped. 
The  inhabitants  of  Tiberias  have  built  here  a  small 
house  with  a  cupola ;  but  there  seems  to  have  been 
formerly  a  much  more  splendid  edifice,  as  the  baths 
were  very  famous.  The  water  rises  something  higher, 
whence  it  is  conducted  into  a  stone  basin.  This  water 
is  so  salt  as  to  communicate  a  brackish  taste  to  that  of 
the  lake  near  it."  Hasselquist  has  given  a  still  more 
minute  account,  which  Dr.  Clarke  has  evidently  over . 
looked  in  referring  to  him.  "  The  fountain  or 
source,"  he  says,  "  is  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain,  at  the 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  275 

distance  of  a  pistol-shot  from  the  Lake  Gennesareth, 
and  a  quarter  of  a  league  from  the  coasts  of  Tiberias^ 
The  mountain  consists  of  a  black  and  brittle  sulphu- 
reous stone,  which  is  only  to  be  found  in  large  masses 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Tiberias,  but  in  loose  stones 
also  on  the  coast  of  the  Dead  Sea,  as  well  as  here. 
They  cut  millstones  out  of  it  in  this  place,  which  are 
sent  by  water  from  Acre  to  Egypt.  I  saw  an  incre- 
dible quantity  of  them  at  Damietta.  The  spring 
which  comes  from  the  mountain  is  in  diameter  equal 
to  that  of  a  man's  arm,  and  there  is  one  only.  The 
water  is  so  hot,  that  the  hand  may  be  put  into  it 
without  scalding,  but  it  cannot  be  kept  there  long : 
consequently,  it  is  not  boiling  hot,  but  the  next  degree 
to  it.  It  has  a  strong  sulphureous  smell.  It  tastes 
bitter,  and  something  like  common  salt.  The  sedi- 
ment deposited  by  it  is  black,  as  thick  as  paste,  smells 
strongly  of  sulphur,  and  is  covered  with  two  skins, 
or  cuticles,  of  which  that  beneath  is  of  a  fine  dark- 
green  colour,  and  the  uppermost  of  a  light  rusty 
colour.  At  the  mouth  of  the  outlet,  where  the  water 
formed  little  cascades  over  the  stones,  the  first-men- 
tioned cuticle  alone  was  found,  and  so  much  resembled 
a  conferva,  that  one  might  easily  have  taken  this, 
that  belongs  to  the  mineral  kingdom,  for  a  vegetable 
production ;  but,  nearer  the  river,  where  the  water 
stood  still,  one  might  see  both  skins,  the  yellow  upper- 
most, and  under  it  the  green."  At  that  time  (1750), 
the  waters  appear  to  have  been  neglected,  and  the 
'••  miserable  bathing  house"  was  not  kept  in  repair.* 

It  seems  at  first  difficult  to  account  for  the  state- 
ment given  by  this  usually  correct  writer,  that  there 
is  but  one  spring,  when  Captain  Mangles  states  that 

*  Voyages  and  Travels,  p.  283. 


276  PALESTINE;  OR, 

there  are  three ;  but  Mr.  Buckingham's  minute  and 
lively  description  explains  the  apparent  discrepancy. 

"  Leaving  the  town  at  the  western  gate,  we  pur- 
sued our  course  southerly  along  its  wall,  and  came  to 
some  scattered  ruins  of  the  old  city  of  Tiberias ;  among 
which  we  observed  many  foundations  of  buildings,  some 
fragments  of  others  still  standing,  and  both  grey  and 
red  granite  columns,  some  portions  of  the  latter  being 
at  least  four  feet  in  diameter  ;  but  among  the  whole, 
we  saw  neither  ornamented  capitals  nor  sculptured 
stones  of  any  kind,  though  the  city  is  known  to  have 
been  a  considerable  one. 

"  In  our  way,  we  passed  an  old  tree  standing  amid 
these  ruins,  and  observed  its  branches  to  be  hung  with, 
rags  of  every  hue  and  colour,  no  doubt  the  offerings  of 
those  who  either  expected  or  had  received  benefit 
from  the  springs  in  the  road  to  which  it  lay.  Through- 
out the  cliffs  of  the  overhanging  mountain  on  the 
west,  are  rude  grottoes  at  different  heights ;  and  oppo- 
site to  the  tree  are  two  arched  caves,  one  of  them 
having  a  square  door  of  entrance  beneath  the  arch, 
and  both  of  them  being  apparently  executed  with 
care.  We  had  not  time  to  examine  them,  though  we 
conceived  them  to  have  been  most  probably  ancient 
sepulchres. 

"  In  less  than  an  hour  after  our  leaving  the  town, 
we  arrived  at  the  baths.  The  present  building,  erected 
over  the  springs  here,  is  small  and  mean,  and  is  alto- 
gether the  work  of  Mahommedans.  It  is  within  a 
few  yards  of  the  edge  of  the  lake,  and  contains  a  bath 
for  males  and  a  bath  for  females,  each  with  their  sepa- 
rate apartment  annexed.  Over  the  door  of  the  former 
is  an  Arabic  inscription ;  ascending  to  this  door  by 
a  few  steps,  it  leads  to  an  outer  room,  with  an  open 
window,  a  hearth  for  preparing  coffee,  and  a  small 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  27? 

closet  for  the  use  of  the  attendant.  Within  this  is 
the  bath  itself,  a  square  room  of  about  eighteen  or 
twenty  feet,  covered  with  a  low  dome,  and  having 
benches  in  recesses  on  each  side.  The  cistern  for 
containing  the  hot  water  is  in  the  centre  of  this  room, 
and  is  sunk  below  the  pavement ;  it  is  a  square  of 
eight  or  nine  feet  only,  and  the  spring  rises  to  supply 
it  through  a  small  head  of  some  animal ;  but  this  is  so 
badly  executed,  that  it  is  difficult  to  decide  for  what  it 
was  intended.  My  thermometer  rose  here  instantly  to 
130°,  which  was  its  utmost  limit ;  but  the  heat  of  the 
water  was  certainly  greater.  It  was  painful  to  the 
hand  as  it  issued  from  the  spout,  and  could  only  be 
borne  gradually  by  those  who  bathed  in  the  cistern. 

"  There  is  here  only  an  old  man  and  a  little  boy  to 
hold  the  horses,  and  make  coffee  for  the  visitors ;  and 
those  who  bathe,  strip  in  the  inner  room,  and  wash 
themselves  in  the  cistern,  without  being  furnished 
with  cloths,  carpets,  cushions,  or  any  of  the  usual 
comforts  of  a  Turkish  bath.  The  whole  establish- 
ment, indeed,  is  of  the  poorest  kind,  and  the  sight  of 
the  interior  is  rather  disgusting  than  inviting. 

"  At  this  bath  we  met  with  a  soldier  whom  they 
called  Mahommed  Mamlouk,  and  I  learnt  that  he 
was  a  German  by  birth,  having  become  a  Mamlouk 
and  Mahommedan  when  a  boy.  He  was  now  the 
hasnadar  or  treasurer  to  the  Agha  of  Tabareeah,  and 
•was  so  completely  a  Turk  as  to  profess,  that  he  would 
not  willingly  return  to  his  native  country,  even  if  he 
could  do  so  under  the  most  favourable  circumstances. 
He  spoke  the  Turkish  and  Arabic  languages  equally 
well ;  and  it  was  in  the  latter  that  we  conversed,  as 
he  had  entirely  forgotten  his  native  tongue,  though 
not  more  than  thirty-five  years  of  age. 

PART    II.  U 


278  PALESTINE;   Oil, 

"  Besides  the  spring  which  supplies  the  present 
baths,  there  are  several  others  near  it,  all  rising  close 
to  the  edge  of  the  lake,  and  all  equally  hot,  finely 
transparent,  and  slightly  sulphureous,  resembling  ex- 
actly the  spring  at  El-Hame.  There  are  also  extensive 
ruins  around,  which  are  most  probably  the  remains  of 
Roman  edifices ;  though  that  which  has  been  taken  for 
the  remains  of  a  theatre,  appears  rather  to  have  been 
the  choir  of  an  early  Christian  church.  Among  them 
all,  there  is  nothing,  however,  either  interesting  or 
definite.  We  quitted  this  spot  to  return  to  the  town, 
and  in  our  way  by  the  bath,  saw  a  party  of  Jewish 
Avomen  just  coming  out  from  the  female  apartment. 
Their  conversation  was  in  German  ;  and,  on  inquiry, 
they  said  that  they  had  come  from  Vienna  with  their 
husbands,  to  end  their  days  in  the  land  of  their  fathers. 
In  our  way  back  from  hence,  we  were  met  by  a  party 
of  Moslems,  who  conceiving  me,  from  my  dress  and 
white  turban,  to  be  of  their  faith,  gave  us  the  usual 
salute,  which  I  returned  without  scruple ;  but  our 
guide  was  so  shocked  at  the  interchange  of  forbidden 
salutations  between  a  Christian  and  a  Mohammedan, 
that  he  expressed  his  confidence  in  its  ending  in  some 
unlucky  accident  to  us.  To  avert  this,  however,  from 
his  own  head,  he  took  a  large  stone  from  the  road, 
and  after  spitting  on  it,  turned  that  part  towards  the 
north,  repeating  a  short  Arabic  prayer  at  the  same 
time.  Besides  the  present  incident,  I  had  observed  on 
several  other  occasions,  that,  in  this  country,  set  forms 
of  expressions  are  regarded  as  appropriate  to  men  of 
different  faiths,  and  even  different  ranks  in  life ;  and 
that  therefore  nothing  is  more  necessary  for  a  tra- 
veller, than  to  acquaint  himself  with  those  minute 
shades  of  difference ;  as  they  serve,  like  the  watch- 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  279 

word  of  an  army,  to  distinguish  friends  from  foes ;  and 
any  errors  therein  might  produce  the  most  alarming 
consequences. 

"  On  our  way  we  met  a  Jewish  funeral,  attended 
by  a  party  of  about  fifty  persons,  all  male.  A  groupe 
of  half  a  dozen  walked  before,  but  without  any  appa- 
rent regard  to  order,  and  all  seemed  engaged  in  hum- 
ming indistinctly  hymns,  or  prayers,  or  lamentations  ; 
for  they  might  have  been  either,  as  fai  as  we  could 
distinguish  by  the  tone  and  the  manner  of  their 
utterance.  The  corpse  followed,  wrapped  in  linen, 
without  a  coffin,  and  slung  on  cords  between  two  poles 
borne  on  men's  shoulders,  with  its  feet  foremost.  A 
funeral  service  was  said  over  it  at  the  grave,  and  it 
was  sunk  into  its  mother  earth  in  peace." 

This  traveller  notices  some  ancient  baths,  to  the 
north  of  Tiberias  also,  which  appear  to  have  escaped 
the  observation  of  preceding  travellers.  About  an 
hour  from  Tiberias,  pursuing  a  northward  course 
along  the  border  of  the  lake,  he  came  to  the  remains 
of  three,  close  to  the  water's  edge,  which  he  describes 
as  so  many  large  circular  cisterns,  quite  open,  and  not 
appearing  to  have  ever  been  inclosed  in  a  covered 
building.  u  They  were  all,"  he  continues,  "  nearly 
of  the  same  size  ;  the  one  around  the  edge  of  which  I 
walked,  being  eighty  paces  in  circumference,  and  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  feet  deep.  Each  of  these  was  distant 
from  the  other  about  one  hundred  yards,  ranging 
along  the  beach  of  the  lake,  and  each  was  supplied  by 
a  separate  spring,  rising  also  near  the  sea.  The 
water  was  in  all  of  tLem  beautifully  transparent,  of  a 
slightly  sulphureous  taste,  and  of  a  light-green  colour, 
as  at  the  bath  near  Oom  Kais ;  but  the  heat  of  the 
stream  here  was  scarcely  greater  than  that  of  the 
atmosphere,  as  the  thermometer  in  the  air  stood  at 


280  PALESTINE  ;   OR, 

84°,  and  when  immersed  in  water,  rose  to  86°.  The 
first  of  these  circular  cisterns  had  a  stone  bench  or 
pathway  running  round  its  interior,  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  bathers,  and  the  last  had  a  similar  work 
on  the  outside  ;  in  the  latter,  a  number  of  small  black 
fish  were  seen  swimming.  Each  of  the  baths  were 
supplied  by  a  small  aqueduct  from  its  separate  spring  ; 
and  there  were  appearances  of  a  semi-circular  wall 
having  inclosed  them  all  within  one  area. 

Mr.  Jolliffe  reports  the  estimated  number  of  inha- 
bitants to  be  4000,  two-thirds  of  which  are  Jews. 
Burckhardt's  account  agrees  with  this  as  to  numbers ; 
but  he  makes  the  proportion  of  Jews  only  one-fourth.* 
There  are,  he  says,  from  one  hundred  and  sixty  to 
two  hundred  Jewish  families,  of  which  forty  or  fifty 
are  of  Polish  origin ;  the  rest  are  Jews  from  Spain, 
Barbary,  and  different  parts  of  Syria.  The  quarter 
which  they  occupy  in  the  middle  of  the  town,  had 
lately  been  much  enlarged  by  the  purchase  of  several 
streets,  so  that  their  numbers  appear  to  be  on  the 
increase.  Tiberias  holds  out  to  the  Jews  peculiar 
advantages.  They  enjoy  here  perfect  religious  free- 
dom ;  besides  which,  Tiberias  is  one  of  the  four  holy 
cities  of  the  Talmud,  the  other  three  being  Saphet, 
Jerusalem,  and  Hebron.  "  It  is  esteemed  holy  ground," 
Burckhardt  states,  "  because  Jacob  is  supposed  to 
have  resided  here,-J-  and  because  it  is  situated  on  the 
Lake  of  Gennesareth ;  from  which,  according  to  the 


*  Mr.  Buckingham  says,  that,  according  to  the  opinion  of  the 
best-informed  residents,  the  population  does  not  exceed  2000  souls, 
of  whom  about  half  are  Jews. 

t  Perhaps  not  the  patriarch,  but  some  great  rabbin  of  that 
name.  Burckhardt  speaks  of  a  great  rabbin,  who,  he  was  In- 
formed, lies  buried  at  Tiberias,  with  14,000  of  his  scholars  round 
him! 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  281 

most  generally  received  opinion  of  the  Talmud,  the 
Messiah  is  to  rise.  It  is  a  received  dogma,  that  the 
world  will  return  to  its  primitive  chaos,  if  prayers  are 
not  addressed  to  the  God  of  Israel,  at  least  twice  a 
week  in  the  four  holy  cities.  On  this  account,  Jewish 
devotees  from  all  parts  flock  to  these  cities  ;  and  three 
or  four  missionaries  are  sent  abroad  every  year,  to 
collect  alms  for  the  support  of  these  religious  fraterni- 
ties, who  do  not  fail  successfully  to  plead  this  immi- 
nent danger  as  an  argument  for  liberal  contributions. 
One  missionary  is  sent  to  the  coasts  of  Africa  from 
Damietta  to  Mogadore ;  another  to  the  coasts  of 
Europe  from  Venice  to  Gibraltar ;  a  third  to  the 
Archipelago,  Constantinople,  and  Anatolia ;  and  a 
fourth  th  rough  Syria.  The  charity  of  the  Jews  of 
London  is  appealed  to  from  time  to  time ;  but  the 
Jews  of  Gibraltar  have  the  reputation  of  being  more 
liberal  than  any  others,  and  are  stated  to  contribute 
from  4  to  fiOOO  Spanish  dollars  annually.  The  Polish 
Jews  settled  at  Tabaria,  are  supported  almost  entirely 
by  their  rich  countrymen  in  Bohemia  and  Poland  ; 
and  the  Syrian  Jews  are  said  to  be  very  jealous  of 
them.  When  a  fresh  pilgrim  arrives,  bringing  a 
little  money  with  him,  the  exorbitant  demands  which 
are  made  on  him  by  his  brethren,  either  for  rent,  or 
on  some  other  pretence,  soon  deprive  him  of  it,  and 
leave  him  a  pensioner  on  his  nation.  The  missionaries 
generally  realize  some  property,  as  they  are  allowed 
ten  per  cent,  upon  the  alms  they  collect.  But  many 
of  the  Jews,  who  have  been  led  to  beg  their  way 
to  Palestine  by  their  delusive  representations,  are  ill 
satisfied  with  the  Land  of  Promise  ;  and  some  few  are 
fortunate  enough  to  find  their  way  home  again.  The 
greater  number,  however,  console  themselves  with  the 
R2 


282  PALESTINE  ;   Oil, 

inestimable  advantage  of  laying  their  bones  in  thr 
Holy  Land. 

The  Jewish  devotees  pass  the  whole  day  in  the 
schools  or  the  synagogue,  reciting  the  Old  Testament 
and  the  Talmud,  both  of  which  many  of  them  know 
entirely  by  heart.  They  all  write  Hebrew ;  but  their 
learning,  Burckhardt  says,  seems  to  be  on  a  level  with 
that  of  the  Turks.  He  mentions  some  beautiful  copies 
of  the  Pentateuch,  written  on  a  roll  of  leather,  which 
he  saw  in  the  Syrian  synagogue  :  no  one  could  inform 
him  of  their  age  or  history.  The  libraries  of  the  two 
schools  are  moderately  stocked  with  Hebrew  books, 
printed  chiefly  at  Vienna  and  Venice.  '  They  observe 
here,  he  says,  a  singular  custom  in  the  public  service. 
"  While  the  rabbin  recites  the  psalms  of  David,  or  the 
prayers  extracted  from  them,  the  congregation  fre- 
quently imitate,  by  their  voice  or  gesture,  the  meaning 
of  some  remarkable  passages  :  for  example,  when  the 
rabbin  pronounces  the  words,  '  Praise  the  Lord  with 
the  sound  of  the  trumpet,'  they  imitate  the  sound  of 
the  trumpet  through  their  closed  fists.  When  4  a 
horrible  tempest '  occurs,  they  puff  and  blow  to  repre- 
sent a  storm ;  or  should  he  mention  the  cries  of  the 
righteous  in  distress,  they  all  set  up  a  loud  scream- 
ing." And  sometimes,  we  are  told,  these  imitative 
accompaniments  are  carried  on  in  a  singular  sort  of 
fugue  or  concert ;  while  some  are  blowing  the  storm, 
others  having  already  begun  the  cries  of  the  righ- 
teous ! 

The  Jews  marry  at  a  very  early  age.  It  is  not 
uncommon,  Burckhardt  affirms,  to  see  fathers  of 
thirteen  years  of  age,  and  mothers  of  eleven.  On  the 
occasion  of  a  wedding,  they  traverse  the  town  in 
pompous  procession,  carrying  before  the  bride  the  plate 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  283 

of  almost  the  whole  community ;  and  they  feast  in 
the  house  of  the  bridegroom  for  seven  successive  days 
and  nights.  u  The  wedding-feast  of  a  man  who  has 
about  50/.  a-year,  (and  no  Jew  can  live  with  his 
family  on  less,)  will  often  cost  more  than  60/."  Yet, 
few  of  them  are  rich,  or  carry  on  any  merchandize. 
When  Burckhardt  was  at  Tiberias,  there  were  only 
two  Jew  merchants  resident  there,  who  were  men  of 
property ;  and  they  were  styled  by  the  devotees,  kafers, 
or  unbelievers.  The  Rabbin  of  Tiberias  is  under  the 
great  Rabbin  of  Szaffad  (Saphet),  who  pronounces 
final  judgement  on  all  contested  points  of  law  and 
religion. 

The  Christian  community  consists  only  of  a  few 
families, — Mr.  Buckingham  says,  about  twenty,  of  the 
Catholic  communion.*  They  enjoy  great  liberty,  and 
are  on  a  footing  of  equality  with  the  Turks.  The 
difference  of  treatment  which  the  Christians  expe- 
rience from  the  Turks,  in  different  parts  of  Syria,  is 
very  remarkable.  It  depends  very  much  on  the 
character  of  the  local  government.  At  the  time  of 
Burckhardt's  visit,  Tabaria,  which,  with  its  district  of 
ten  or  twelve  villages,  forms  part  of  the  pashalik  of 
Acre,  was  under  the  mild  and  tolerant  government  of 
Soleiman  Pasha,  the  successor  of  Djezzar.  "  At 
Szaffad,"  says  that  enterprising  traveller,  "  where  is 
a  small  Christian  community,  the  Turks  are  extremely 
intolerant :  at  Tiberias,  on  the  contrary,  I  have  seen 
Christians  beating  Turks  in  the  public  bazar."  A 
bazar  had  been  lately  built,  in  which  he  counted  a 
dozen  retail  sheps.  "  The  traffic  of  the  inhabitants  is 
principally  with  the  Bedouins  of  the  Ghor  and  of  the 

*  Yet  Dr.  Clarke  says,  they  are  numerous,  and  that  he  was  con- 
vinced of  this  by  the  multitude  he  saw  coining  from  the  morning 
service  of  the  church. 


284  PALESTINE;  OR, 

district  of  Szaffad.  The  shopkeepers  repair  every 
Monday  to  the  khan  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Tabor 
where  a  market  called  Souk-el-Khan  is  held,  and 
where  the  merchandize  of  the  town  is  bartered,  chiefly 
for  cattle.  The  greater  part  of  the  inhabitants  culti- 
vate the  soil,  which  produces  wheat,  barley,  dhourra, 
tobacco,  melons,  grapes,  and  a  few  vegetables.  About 
350  Ibs.  of  melons  sell  for  about  eight  shillings.  The 
heat  of  the  climate  would  enable  them  to  grow  almost 
any  tropical  plant."  There  is,  however,  "  little  art  at 
Tiberias,  and  less  industry."  "  I  had  broken,"  says 
Dr.  Richardson,  "  the  mouth-piece  of  my  pipe  at 
Bisan,  and  could  not  find  in  all  Tiberias  a  person  who 
could  make  a  tube  for  it ;  yet  every  person  here,  both 
men  and  women,  smoke.  There  are  many  Turks, 
and  a  still  greater  number  of  Jews,  in  Tiberias.  A 
respectable-looking,  rich  Jew  passes  himself  off  as 
European  consul ;  though  by  whom  constituted,  or 
for  what  purpose,  I  cannot  say.  However,  he  thought 
proper  to  pay  his  respects  to  the  Pasha,  dressed  in  the 
European  costume :  he  wore  a  scarlet  coat  and  cocked 
hat,  tight  small-clothes,  silk  stockings,  shoes  and 
buckles ;  he  rode  upon  an  ass,  and  carried  a  cochlico 
umbrella  above  his  head.  He  was  a  thin,  meagre, 
old  man,  between  seventy  and  eighty  years  of  age. 
His  appearance  was  highly  grotesque  and  abundantly 
amusing  to  all  the  spectators." 

It  is  remarkable,  that  there  are  no  fishing-boats  at 
Tiberias.  The  fish  are  caught  with  casting-nets, 
thrown  from  the  rocks  or  from  the  beach ;  a  method 
which  must  obviously  yield  a  very  small  quantity, 
compared  to  what  could  be  obtained  by  boats.  The 
consequence  is,  that  fish  is  sold  at  the  same  price  per 
pound  as  meat.  Pococke  went  on  the  lake  in  a  boat 
which  was  kept  in  order  to  fetch  wood  from  the  other 


TH-E   HOLY   LAND.  285 

side.  But,  when  Captain  Irby  and  his  companions 
were  at  Tiberias,  not  a  single  boat  of  any  description 
was  to  be  seen  on  the  lake.  "  The  fishery,"  Burck- 
hardt  says,  "  is  rented  at  seven  hundred  piastres  per 
annum ;  but  the  only  boat  that  was  employed  on  it  by 
the  fishermen,  fell  to  pieces  last  year  (1811),  and  such 
is  the  indolence  of  these  people,  that  they  have  not 
yet  supplied  its  loss."  The  northern  part  of  the  lake, 
he  says,  is  full  of  fish,  but  he  did  not  see  one  at  the 
southern  extremity.  The  most  common  species  are 
the  binni,  or  carp,  and  the  mesht,  a  flat  fish  about  a 
foot  long  and  five  inches  broad.  Their  flavour  is 
reported  to  be  excellent,  and  the  commonest  sort  is 
the  best.  Captain  Mangles  describes  it  as  a  species  of 
bream,  equal  to  the  finest  perch.  According  to  Has- 
selquist,  the  same  kind  is  met  with  here  as  in  the 
Nile :  he  specifies  charmnlh,  silurus,  bcenni,  mul-sil, 
and  sparus  Galilceus.  Some  are  very  large,  living 
here  in  quiet  security,  being  never  disturbed  by  boats 
or  vessels,  nets  or  hooks. 


LAKE  OF  TIBERIAS. 

THIS  inland  sea,  or  more  properly  lake,  which 
derives  its  several  names,  the  Lake  of  Tiberias,  the 
Sea  of  Galilee,  and  the  Lake  of  Gennesareth,  from  the 
territory  which  forms  its  western  and  south-western 
border,  is  computed  to  be  between  seventeen  and 
eighteen  miles  in  length,  and  from  five  to  six  in 
breadth.*  The  mountains  on  the  e?.st  come  close  to 

*  According  to  Joser»hus.  Dr.  Richardson,  misled  by  Sandys, 
makes  it  "  about  twelve  miles  long  and  six  broad."  Dr.  Clarke 
says:  "  Of  its  length  we  could  not  form  any  accurate  opinion, 
because  its  southern  extremity,  winding  behind  distant  moun. 
tains,  was  concealed  from  our  view;  but  we  inclined  rather  to 


286  PALESTINE;  OR, 

its  shore,  and  the  country  on  that  side  has  not  a  very 
agreeable  aspect :  on  the  west,  it  has  the  plain  ot 
Tiberias,  the  high  ground  of  the  plain  of  Hutin,  or 
Hottein,  the  plain  of  Gennesareth,  and  the  foot  of 
those  hills  by  which  you  ascend  to  the  high  moun- 
tain of  Saphet.  To  the  north  and  south  it  has  a  plain 
country,  or  valley.  There  is  a  current  throughout 
the  whole  breadth  of  the  lake,  even  to  the  shore ; 
and  the  passage  of  the  Jordan  through  it  is  discernible 
by  the  smoothness  of  the  surface  in  that  part.  Various 
travellers  have  given  a  very  different  account  of  its 
general  aspect.  According  to  Captain  Mangles,  the 
land  about  it  has  no  striking  features,  and  the  scenery 
is  altogether  devoid  of  character.  "  It  appeared," 
he  says,  "  to  particular  disadvantage  to  us  after  those 
beautiful  lakes  we  had  seen  in  Switzerland ;  but  it 
becomes  a  very  interesting  object,  when  you  consider 
the  frequent  allusions  to  it  in  the  Gospel  narrative." 
Dr.  Clarke,  on  the  contrary,  speaks  of  the  uncommon 
grandeur  of  this  memorable  scenery.  "  The  Lake  of 
Gennesareth,"  he  says,  "  is  surrounded  by  objects 
well  calculated  to  heighten  the  solemn  impression  " 
made  by  such  recollections,  and  "  affords  one  of  the 
most  striking  prospects  in  the  Holy  Land.  Speaking 
of  it  comparatively,  it  may  be  described  as  longer  and 
finer  than  any  of  our  Cumberland  and  Westmoreland 
lakes,  although  perhaps  inferior  to  Loch  Lomond.  It 
does  not  possess  the  vastness  of  the  Lake  of  Geneva, 
although  it  much  resembles  it  in  certain  points  oi 
view.  In  picturesque  beauty,  it  comes  nearest  to  the 
Lake  of  Locarno  in  Italy,  although  it  is  destitute  of 

the  statement  of  Hegesippus,  as  applied  by  Heland  to  the  text 
of  Jcaephus:  this  makes  it  to  equal  140  stadia,  or  seventeen 
miles  and  a  half."  Its  breadth  he  judged  to  be  not  less  than  six 
miles. 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  287 

any  thing  similar  to  the  islands  by  which  that  majestic 
piece  of  water  is  adorned.  It  is  inferior  in  magni- 
tude, and  in  the  height  of  its  surrounding  mountains, 
to  the  Lake  Asphaltites."  Mr.  Bxickingham  may 
perhaps  be  considered  as  having  given  the  most  ac- 
curate account,  and  one  which  reconciles  in  some 
degree  the  differing  statements  above  cited,  when, 
speaking  of  the  lake  as  seen  from  Tel  Hoom,  he 
says — that  its  appearance  is  grand,  but  that  the  barren 
aspect  of  the  mountains  on  each  side,  and  the  total 
absence  of  wood,  give  a  cast  of  dulness  to  the  picture  ; 
this  is  increased  to  melancholy  by  the  dead  calm  of 
its  waters,  and  the  silence  which  reigns  throughout  its 
whole  extent,  where  not  a  boat  or  vessel  of  any  kind 
is  to  be  found. 

Among  the  pebbles  on  the  shore,  Dr.  Clarke  found 
pieces  of  a  porous  rock  resembling  toad-stone,  its 
cavities  filled  with  zeolite.  Native  gold  is  said  to 
have  been  found  here  formerly.  "  We  noticed,"  he 
says,  "  an  appearance  of  this  kind,  but,  on  account 
of  its  trivial  nature,  neglected  to  pay  proper  attention 
to  it.  The  water  was  as  clear  as  the  purest  crystal, 
sweet,  cool,  and  most  refreshing.  Swimming  to  a 
considerable  distance  from  the  shore,  we  found  it  so 
limpid  that  we  could  discern  the  bottom  covered  with 
shining  pebbles.  Among  these  stones  was  a  beauti- 
ful, but  very  diminutive  kind  of  shell,  a  nondescript 
species  of  Buccinum,  which  we  have  called  Buccinum 
GalilcBum.  We  amused  ourselves  by  diving  for  speci- 
mens ;  and  the  very  circumstance  of  discerning  such 
small  objects  beneath  tLe  surface,  may  prove  the  high 
transparency  of  the  water."  The  situation  of  the 
lake,  lying  as  it  were  in  a  deep  basin  between  the 
hills  which  enclose  it  on  all  sides,  excepting  only  the 
narrow  entrance  and  outlets  of  the  Jordan  at  either 


288  PALESTINE;  OR, 

end,  protects  its  waters  from  long-continued  tempests : 
its  surface  is  in  general  as  smooth  as  that  of  the  Dead 
Sea.  But  the  same  local  features  render  it  occasion- 
ally subject  to  whirlwinds,  squalls,  and  sudden  gusts 
from  the  mountains,  of  short  duration  :  especially, 
when  the  strong  current  formed  by  the  Jordan  is 
opposed  by  a  wind  of  this  description  from  the  S.E., 
sweeping  from  the  mountains  with  the  force  of  a 
hurricane,  it  may  easily  be  conceived  that  a  boisterous 
sea  must  be  instantly  raised,  which  the  small  vessels 
of  the  country  would  be  unable  to  resist.  A  storm 
of  this  description  is  plainly  denoted  by  the  language 
of  the  evangelist,  in  recounting  one  of  our  Lord's 
miracles.  "  There  came  down  a  storm  of  wind  on  the 
lake,  and  they  were  filled  with  water,  and  were  in 

jeopardy Then  he  arose,   and  rebuked  the  wind 

and  the  raging  of  the  water ;  and  they  ceased,  and 
there  was  a  calm."* 

There  were  fleets  of  some  force  on  this  lake  during 
the  wars  of  the  Jews  with  the  Romans,  and  very 
bloody  battles  were  fought  between  them.  Josephus 
gives  a  particular  account  of  a  naval  engagement  be- 
tween the  Romans  under  Vespasian,  and  the  Jews  who 
had  revolted  during  the  administration  of  Agrippa. 
Titus  and  Trajan  were  both  present,  and  Vespasian 
himself  was  on  board  the  Roman  fleet.  The  rebel 
force  consisted  of  an  immense  multitude,  who,  as 
fugitives  after  the  capture  of  Tanchsea  by  Titus,  had 
sought  refuge  on  the  water.  The  vessels  in  which 
the  Romans  defeated  them,  were  built  for  the  occa- 
sion, and  yet  \vere  larger  than  the  Jewish  ships.  The 
victory  was  followed  by  so  terrible  a  slaughter  of  the 
Jews}  that  nothing  was  to  be  seen,  either  on  the  lake 

•  Luke  viii.  23,  24. 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  289 

or  its  shores,  but  the  blood  and  mangled  corses  of  the 
slain,  and  the  air  was  infected  by  the  number  of  dead 
bodies.  Six  thousand  five  hundred  persons  are  stated 
to  have  perished  in  this  naval  engagement  and  in  the 
battle  of  Tarichaea,  besides  twelve  hundred  who  were 
afterwards  massacred  in  cold  blood  by  order  of  Ves- 
pasian, in  the  amphitheatre  at  Tiberias,  and  a  vast 
number  who  were  given  to  Agrippa  as  slaves.* 

Of  the  numerous  towns  which  formerly  flourished 
on  the  shores  of  this  lake,  few  traces  now  remain,  and 
there  is  some  difficulty  in  determining  even  the  sites 
of  those  whose  names  have  come  down  to  us.  About 
an  hour  and  a  quarter  to  the  northward  of  Tiberias, 
following  the  course  of  the  lake,  is  a  small  Mahom- 
medan  village  called  Migdal, -f  (which  signifies  in 
Hebrew  a  tower,)  where  there  are  considerable  re- 
mains  of  a  very  indifferent  castle,  that  may  possibly 
have  given  its  name  to  the  place.  It  is  seated  near 
the  edge  of  the  lake,  beneath  a  range  of  high  cliffs, 
in  which  are  seen  small  grottoes  or  caves.  The  ruins 
consist  of  an  old  square  tower  and  some  larger  build- 
ings of  rude  construction,  apparently  ancient.  It  is 
generally  supposed  that  this  is  the  Magdala  of  the 
Gospels,  and  the  Migdal  of  the  earlier  Scriptures.  J 
But  Pococke  objects  against  this  opinion,  that  Mag- 
dala seems  to  have  been  in  the  same  direction  as 
Dalmanutha,  which  he  supposes  to  have  been  on  the 
eastern  coast.  This,  however,  is  far  from  certain. 
He  places  it  at  the  S.E.  corner  of  the  plain,  which, 
he  says,  "  must  be  what  Josephus  calls  the  country  of 
Gennesareth,  and  which  he  describes  as  thirty  stadia 
long  from  north  to  south,  and  twenty  broad,  that  is, 

•  Joseph.  Wars,  book  iii.  chap.  17. 
Burckhardt  writes  it  El  Medjdel. 
t  Matt  xv.  39.    Joshua  xix.  38. 
PART  II.  8 


290  PALESTINE  ;    OB, 

from  the  Vale  of  Doves  (Wady  Hymam)  to  the  sea." 
"  This  plain,"  he  adds,  u  is  a  very  fertile  spot  of 
ground.  About  the  middle  of  the  plain,  or  rather 
towards  the  north  side,  there  is  a  very  fine  fountain, 
about  one  hundred  feet  in  diameter,  enclosed  with  a 
circular  wall  six  feet  high,  on  which  account  it  is 
called  the  round  fountain :  it  runs  off  in  a  stream 
through  the  plain  into  the  lake,  and  is  probably  the 
fountain  mentioned  by  Josephus,  by  the  name  of 
Cesaina,  as  watering  this  plain.  The  water  seems 
to  be  that  which  was  called  the  spring  of  Capernaum, 
from  which  one  may  suppose  that  Capernaum  was  at 
the  lake  where  this  rivulet  falls  into  it."* 

Burckhardt  and  Captain  Mangles  describe,  half  an 

*  "  The  country  also  that  lies  over  against  this  lake  hath  the 
same  name  of  Gennesareth.  Its  nature  is  wonderful,  as  well  as 
its  beauty :  its  soil  is  so  fruitful  that  all  sorts  of  trees  can  grow 
upon  it,  and  the  inhabitants  accordingly  plant  all  sorts  of  trees 
there ;  for  the  temper  of  the  air  is  so  well  mixed  that  it  agrees  very 
well  with  those  several  sorts ;  particularly  walnuts,  which  require 
the  coldest  air,  flourish  there  hi  vast  plenty ;  there  are  palm-trees 
also,  which  grow  best  in  hot  air;  fig-trees  also  and  olives  grow 
near  them,  which  yet  require  an  air  that  is  more  temperate.  One 
may  call  this  place  the  ambition  of  nature,  where  it  forces  those 
plants  that  are  naturally  enemies  to  one  another,  to  agree  to- 
gether. It  is  a  happy  contention  of  the  seasons,  as  if  every  one 
of  them  laid  claim  to  this  country ;  for  it  not  only  nourishes 
different  sorts  of  autumnal  fruit  beyond  men's  expectation,  but 
preserves  them  also  a  great  while.  It  supplies  men  with  the  prin- 
cipal fruits,  with  grapes  and  flgs  continually,  during  ten  months 
of  the  year,  and  the  rest  of  the  fruits  as  they  become  ripe  together 
through  the  whole  year.  For  besides  the  good  temperature  of  the 
air,  it  is  also  watered  from  a  most  fertile  fountain.  The  people  of 
the  country  call  it  Capharnaum.  Some  have  thought  it  to  be  a 
vein  of  the  Nile,  because  it  produces  the  coracin  fish  as  well  as 
that  lake  does  which  is  near  to  Alexandria.  The  length  of  this 
country  extends  itself  along  the  banks  of  this  lake,  that  bears  the 
same  name,  for  thirty  furlongs,  and  is  in  breadth  twenty.  And 
this  is  the  nature  of  that  place."  —  JOSBPHUS,  Wars,  book  iii. 
chap.  10,  {  8. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  291 

hour  to  the  west  of  Magdala,  on  the  northern  side  of 
the  entrance  of  a  wady  or  ravine,  a  curious  ancient 
fortification  to  which  the  natives  give  the  name  of  the 
Castle  of  the  Pigeons  {Kalaat  Hamain),  on  account, 
Burckhardt  says,  of  the  vast  quantity  of  wild  pigeons 
that  breed  there.  A  high  perpendicular  cliff  projects 
so  as  to  form  a  natural  barrier  on  two  sides  of  a 
triangle,  and  the  remaining  side  is  defended  by  a  wall 
of  rough  masonry  with  numerous  projecting  turrets. 
"  It  is  certainly  very  antique,  and  Mr.  Bankes  thinks, 
prior  to  the  time  of  the  Romans.  It  may  possibly," 
adds  Captain  Mangles,  "  be  the  ancient  Jotapata." 
This  conjecture,  however,  is  not  supported  by  the 
description,  which  hardly  agrees  with  the  situation 
of  Jotapata  as  given  by  Josephus.*  It  is  evidently 
the  same  place  as  Pococke  refers  to  under  the  name 
of  the  Valley  of  Doves  (or  Pigeons).  "  Two  miles 
N.E.  of  Hutin,"  he  says,  "  and  north  of  the  plain  of 
Hutin,  is  a  narrow  pass  called  Waad  Hymam  (the 
Valley  of  Doves),  which  is  a  descent  between  two 
rocky  mountains  into  the  plain  of  Gennesareth,  which 
is  westward  of  the  middle  part  of  the  Sea  of  Tiberias. 
These  mountains  are  full  of  sepulchral  grots,  which 
probably  belonged  to  the  towns  and  villages  near. 
On  the  north  side  of  the  hill,  over  the  plain  of  Genne- 
sareth, there  is  a  fortress  cut  into  the  perpendicular 
rock  a  considerable  height,  with  a  great  number  of 
apartments  ;  the  ascent  to  which  is  very  steep.  It  is 
said  by  some  to  be  the  work,  at  least  the  improve- 
ment, of  Feckerdine."-!-  He  goes  on  to  state,  as  the 

*  Wars,  book  lii.  chap.  7,  §  7- 

t  With  this,  Burckhardt's  description  accurately  agrees.  "  In 
the  calcareous  mountain  are  many  natural  caverns,  which  have 
been  united  together  by  passages  cut  in  the  rock,  and  enlarged  in 


292  PALESTINE;  OR, 

reason  of  his  mentioning  this  pass  so  particularly,  that 
south  of  it,  in  the  plain  of  Hutin,  and  about  two  miles 
west  of  the  Sea  of  Tiberias,  are  the  ruins  of  a  town 
or  large  village,  which  still  bears  the  name  of  Bait- 
si  da,  and  must  have  been  the  ancient  Bethsaida  of 
Galilee.  "  There  are  ruins  of  a  large  cistern  and 
other  buildings  here,  and  particularly  great  remains 
of  a  church,  and  of  a  very  fine  worked  door-case  to 
it,  and  some  columns."  The  Bethsaida  to  which 
Philip -the  Tetrarch  gave  the  name  of  Julias,*  in 
honour  of  Caesar's  daughter,  the  learned  author  con- 
cludes to  have  been  a  different  place  ;  it  was  situated 
in  the  lower  Gaulonitis  ;  and  he  contends,  that  as  its 
name  was  changed  before  our  Lord  frequented  these 
parts,  it  would  not  have  been  referred  to  by  the 
evangelist  under  any  other  appellation.  It  is  certain, 
indeed,  that  the  Bethsaida  of  the  evangelists,  as  well 
as  Chorazin  and  Capernaum  with  which  it  is  asso- 
ciated, was  in  Galilee. -f- 

order  to  render  them  more  commodious  for  habitation.  Wall* 
also  have  been  built  across  the  natural  openings,  so  that  no  person 
could  enter  them  except  through  the  narrow  communicating  pas- 
sages ;  and  wherever  the  nature  of  the  almost  perpendicular  cliff 
permitted  it,  small  bastions  were  built  to  defend  the  castle,  which 
has  been  thus  rendered  almost  impregnable.  The  perpendicular 
cliff  forms  its  protection  above,  and  the  access  from  below  is  by  a 
narrow  path,  so  steep  as  not  to  allow  of  a  horse  mounting  it.  In  the 
midst  of  the  caverns  several  deep  cisterns  have  been  hewn."  The 
place  might,  he  thinks,  shelter  about  600  men  ;  and  he  supposes  it 
to  be  the  work  of  some  powerful  robber  about  the  time  of  the 
Crusades,  as  a  few  vaults  of  communication,  with  pointed  arches, 
denote  Gothic  architecture. — Travels  in  Syria,  p.  331. 

*  There  was  another  Julias,  in  Perea,  on  the  east  side  of  the 
lake,  the  ancient  name  of  which  was  Betherampta.  This  was 
built  by  Herod  Antipas.  See  Josephus,  Jewish  Wars,  book  ii. 
chap.  9. 

f  John  xii.  21.    Matt.  xL  21,  23. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  293 

With  regard  to  Choraziii,  Pococke  says  that  he 
could  find  nothing  like  the  name  except  at  a  village 
called  Gerasi,  which  is  among  the  hills  west  of  the 
place  called  Telhoue  in  the  plain  of  Gennesareth.  Dr. 
Richardson,  in  passing  through  this  plain,  inquired 
of  the  natives  whether  they  knew  such  a  place  as 
Capernaum  ?  They  immediately  rejoined,  "  Caverna- 
hum  wa  Chorasi,  they  are  quite  near,  but  in  ruins." 
This  evidence  sufficiently  fixes  the  proximity  of 
Chorazin  to  Capernaum,  in  opposition  to  the  opinion 
that  it  was  on  the  east  side  of  the  lake ;  and  it  is 
probable  that  the  Gerasi  of  Pococke  is  the  same  place, 
the  orthography  only  being  varied,  as  Dr.  Richard- 
son's Chorasi. 

Capernaum  was  on  the  sea-coast,  on  the  borders  of 
Zabulon  and  Naphthali.*  Mr.  Buckingham  mentions 
an  Arab  station,  said  to  have  been  formerly  called 
Capharnaoom,  upon  the  edge  of  the  lake,  from  nine  to 
twelve  miles  N.N.E.  of  Tiberias,  bearing  at  present 
only  the  name  of  Talhewn, -f-  —  the  Telhoue  of  Po- 
cocke, who  describes  it  as  lying  at  the  eastern  foot 
of  the  hills  north  of  the  plain  of  Gennesareth,  and 
supposes  (but  it  is  evidently  an  erroneous  conjec- 
ture) that  it  is  the  ancient  Tarichea.  The  ruins,  he 
says,  extend  considerably  to  the  north  along  the  lake. 
Among  them  he  saw  the  remains  of  a  small  church, 
of  white  marble,  with  some  pilasters  about  it ;  he 
observed  also  a  round  port  for  small  boats.  Mr.  Buck- 
ingham says:  "  Tal-hhewn,  though  now  only  a  sta- 
tion of  Bedouins,  appears  to  have  been  the  site  of 
some  considerable  settlement,  as  ruined  buildings, 
hewn  stones,  broken  pottery,  &c.,  are  scattered  around 

•  Matt.  iv.  13. 

•f  Burckhardt  writes  it  Tel  Room,  which  is  somewhat  nearer  th«- 
supposed  ancient  name. 


294  PALESTINE;  on, 

here  over  a  wide  space.  The  foundations  of  a  large 
and  magnificent  edifice  are  still  to  be  traced  here, 
though  there  remains  not  sufficient  of  the  building 
itself  to  decide  whether  it  was  a  temple  or  a  palace. 
It  appears  to  have  had  its  greatest  length  from  north 
to  south,  and  thus  presented  a  narrow  front  towards 
the  lake.  The  northern  end  of  the  building  is  sixty- 
five  paces  in  length ;  and,  as  the  foundation  of  the 
eastern  wall  appears  to  extend  from  hence  down 
close  to  the  sea,  it  must  have  been  nearly  four  times 
that  measurement,  or  two  hundred  paces  in  extent. 
Within  this  space  are  seen  large  blocks  of  sculptured 
stone,  in  friezes,  cornices,  mouldings,  &c.,  and  among 
them  two  masses  which  looked  like  pannels  of  some 
sculptured  wall.  I  conceived  them  at  first  to  have 
been  stone  doors,  but  they  were  too  thick  for  that 
purpose,  and  had  no  appearance  of  pivots  for  hinges  ; 
nor  could  they  have  been  sarcophagi,  as  they  were 
both  perfectly  solid.  The  sculpture  seems  to  have 
been  originally  fine,  but  is  now  much  defaced  by  time. 
The  block  was  nine  spans  long,  four  and  a  half  spans 
wide,  and  two  spans  thick  in  its  present  state,  and  lay 
on  its  edge  against  other  hewn  stones. 

"  Among  the  singularities  we  noticed  here,  were 
double  pedestals,  double  shafts,  and  double  capitals, 
attached  to  each  other  in  one  solid  mass,  having  been 
perhaps  thus  used  at  the  angles  of  colonnades.  There 
were  at  least  twenty  pedestals  of  columns  within  this 
area,  occupying  their  original  places,  besides  many 
others  overturned  and  removed,  and  all  the  capitals 
we  saw  were  of  the  Corinthian  order  and  of  a  large 
size. 

"  Near  to  this  edifice,  and  close  upon  the  edge  of 
the  lake,  are  the  walls  of  a  solid  building,  evidently 
constructed  with  fragments  of  the  adjacent  ruins,  as 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  295 

there  are  seen  in  it  shafts  of  pillars  worked  into  the 
masonry,  as  well  as  pieces  of  sculptured  stones  inter- 
mingled with  plain  ones.  This  small  building  is 
vaulted  within,  though  the  Arabs  have  raised  a  flat 
terrace  on  its  roof ;  and  a  poor  family,  with  their 
cattle,  now  use  the  whole  for  their  dwelling. 

"  To  the  north-east  of  this  spot,  about  two  hundred 
yards,  are  the  remains  of  a  small  domestic  bath,  the 
square  cistern,  and  channels  for  supplying  it  with 
water,  being  still  perfect ;  and  close  by  is  a  portion 
of  the  dwelling  to  which  it  was  probably  attached, 
with  a  narrow  winding  stair-case  on  one  of  its  sides. 
The  blocks  of  the  great  edifice  are  exceedingly  large ; 
and  these,  as  well  as  the  materials  of  the  smaller 
buildings  and  the  fragments  scattered  around  in  every 
direction,  are  chiefly  of  the  black  porous  stone  which 
abounds  throughout  the  western  shores  of  the  lake. 
Some  masses  of  coarse  white  marble  are  seen,  how- 
ever, in  the  centre  of  the  large  ruin,  and  some  sub- 
terraneous work  appears  to  have  been  constructed 
there  of  that  substance.  The  whole  has  an  air  of 
great  antiquity,  both  from  its  outward  appearance 
and  its  almost  complete  destruction,  but  the  style  of 
the  architecture  is  evidently  Roman." 

Upon  what  authority  this  site  is  said  to  have  borne 
the  name  of  Capernaum,  does  not  appear;  but  it 
must  be  very  strong  to  overbalance  the  obvious  ob- 
jections to  the  conjecture.  In  the  first  place,  Dr. 
Richardson's  information  is  positive,  that  the  ruins  of 
Capernaum  still  retain  their  ancient  name.  Secondly, 
there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  that  town  was  ever 
a  place  of  such  consequence  as  these  ruins  indicate. 
Its  being  "  exalted  to  heaven"*  is  to  be  understood 

»  Matt.  xi.  23 


296  PALESTINE;  OR, 

of  its  having  had  our  Lord  for  an  inhabitant.  Fur- 
ther,  the  modern  appellation  is  a  strong  presumption 
against  the  supposition,  as  the  Arabs  never  change 
the  ancient  names,  except  by  corrupting  them.  Van 
Egmont  and  Heyman  mention  another  place,  about 
three  hours'  journey  from  Tiberias,  "  where  are  the 
ruins  of  a  city  which  seems  to  have  been  large  :  the 
country  people  call  it  Misdel,  and  pretended  it  to  be 
the  ancient  Capernaum."  To  this  it  has  probably  no 
better  claim  than  Talhewn  has  ;  but  the  statement 
shews  how  little  dependence  is  to  be  placed  on  vague 
reports  of  the  kind,  unsupported  by  the  present  names 
of  the  places.  Assuredly,  none  of  the  country  people 
know  what  any  place,  that  has  lost  its  ancient  appella- 
tion, used  to  be  called  eighteen  hundred  years  ago. 

Burckhardt  states,  that  at  Tel  Hoom,  there  is  a  well 
of  salt  water  called  Tennour  Ayoub,  and  the  rivulet 
El  Eshe  empties  itself  into  the  lake  just  by.  At  some 
short  distance,  more  to  the  S.W.,  is  a  spring  near  the 
border  of  the  lake,  called  Ain  Tabegha,  with  a  few 
houses  and  a  corn-mill ;  but  the  water  Js  so  strongly 
impregnated  with  salt  as  not  to  be  drinkable.  This 
must  be  the  place  which  Mr.  Buckingham  calls 
Tahhbahh,  where  he  found  only  one  Arab  family ; 
but  he  states  that  there  are  several  hot  springs  here, 
of  the  same  nature  as  those  below  Oom  Kais,  but 
much  more  copious.  "  Ar6und  them,"  he  says,  "  are 
remains  of  four  large  baths,  each  supplied  by  Its  own 
separate  spring,  and  each  having  an  aqueduct  for 
carrying  off  its  superfluous  waters  into  the  lake,  from 
which  they  are  distant  about  three  hundred  yards. 
The  most  perfect  of  these  baths  is  an  open  octangular 
basin  of  excellent  masonry,  stuccoed  on  the  inside, 
being  one  hundred  and  five  paces  in  circumference, 
and  about  twenty^five  feet  in  depth.  We  descended 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  297 

to  it  by  a  narrow  flight  of  ten  stone  steps,  which  lead 
to  a  platform  aboift  twelve  feet  square,  and  elevated 
considerably  above  the  bottom  of  the  bath,  so  that 
the  bathers  might  go  from  thence  into  deeper  water 
below.  This  large  basin  is  now  nearly  filled  with  tall 
reeds,  growing  up  from  the  bottom  ;  but  its  aqueduct, 
which  is  still  perfect,  and  arched  near  the  end,  carries 
down  a  full  and  rapid  stream  to  turn  the  mill  erected 
at  its  further  end.  On  the  sides  of  this  aqueduct  ai-e 
seen  incrustations  similar  to  those  described  on  the 
aqueduct  of  Tyre,  leading  from  the  cisterns  of  Solo- 
mon at  Ras-el-ayn,  and  occasioned,  no  doubt,  by  the 
same  cause.  The  whole  of  the  work,  both  of  the 
baths  and  its  aqueduct,  appears  to  be  Roman  ;  and 
it  is  executed  with  the  care  and  solidity  which  gene- 
rally mark  the  architectural  labours  of  that  people. 
At  a  short  distance  beyond  this,  to  the  eastward,  is  a 
small  circular  building  called  Hemmam-el-Aioobe,  or 
the  Bath  of  Job,  but  it  is  apparently  of  the  same  age 
as  those  near  it." 

To  the  south  of  Tabegha,  returning  towards  Ti- 
berias, and  still  keeping  the  border  of  the  lake,  is  a 
ruined  khan,  called  Khan  Mennye  or  Munney ;  a 
large  and  well-constructed  building.  "  Here  begins," 
says  Burckhardt,  (coming  from  the  north,)  "  a  plain 
of  about  twenty  minutes  in  breadth,  to  the  north  of 
which  the  mountain  stretches  down  close  to  the  lake. 
That  plain  is  covered  with  the  tree  called  down  or 
theder,  which  bears  a  small  yellow  fruit  like  the 
zaarour.*  It  was  now  about  mid-day,  and  the  sun 

*  Pococke,  evidently  referring  to  the  same  fruit,  describes  it  as 

"a  little  sort  of  apple,  which  is  not  disagreeable;  it  grows  on  a 

thorny  tree,  and,  they  say,  ripens  at  all  seasons-   .-If  I  do  not 

mistake,"  he  says,  "  it  is  the  nabbok." 

S  2 


298  PALESTINE;  OR, 

intensely  hot ;  we  therefore  looked  about  for  a  shady 
spot,  and  reposed  under  a  very  large  fig-tree,  at  the 
foot  of  which  a  rivulet  of  sweet  water  gushes  out  from 
beneath  the  rocks,  and  falls  into  the  lake  at  a  few 
hundred  paces  distant.  The  tree  has  given  its  name 
to  the  spring,  Ain-el-Tin :  near  it  are  several  other 
springs,  which  occasion  a  very  luxuriant  herbage  along 
the  borders  of  the  lake."  *  This  is  undoubtedly  the 
plain  of  Gennesareth,  described  by  Josephus  in  such 
glowing  language  ;  and  the  Ain-el-Tin  must  be  "  the 
fountain  of  Capernaum. "-f  Here  we  have  still  the 
fig-tree  asserting  its  claim  to  the  soil,  as  mentioned 
by  Josephus,  as  well  as  the  doom,  a  species  of  palm. 
u  The  pastures  of  Mennye,  Burckhardt  adds,  "  are 
proverbial  for  their  richness  among  the  inhabitants  of 
the  neighbouring  countries.  High  reeds  grow  along 
the  shore,  but  I  found  none  of  the  aromatic  reeds  and 
rushes  mentioned  by  Strabo." 

Here  then,  if  the  authority  of  Josephus  may  be 
built  upon,  we  should  expect  to  find  traces  of  the 
ancient  Capernaum.  $  Between  Khan  Mennye  and 
El  Medjdel,  a  distance  of  about  three  miles,  there 
occurs  no  modern  village.  It  remains  for  future 
travellers  to  pursue  the  inquiry,  and  ascertain  whe- 
ther any  thing  remains  besides  the  name  of  that  once 
favoured  town ;  or  whether  our  Saviour's  denuncia- 

*  Travels  in  Syria,  p.  319. 

t  See  preceding  note  at  p.  290. 

\  From  comparing  the  parallel  passages,  Matt.  xiv.  34,  and 
John  vi.  23,  24,  it  would  appear,  that  Capernaum  was  certainly  in 
the  land  of  Gennesareth,  and  not  far  from  Tiberias.  Churches 
were  built,  by  order  of  Constantine,  at  Capernaum,  Tiberias,  and 
Sepphoury.  Some  traces  of  such  an  edifice  will  probably  remain 
to  identify  the  site — unless  Tel  Hoom  was  even  at  that  time  taken 
for  Capernaum. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  299 

tion  against  it  has  been  literally  accomplished,  that  it 
should  be  cast  down  as  it  were  into  the  grave.* 

"  In  thirty-eight  minutes  from  Khan  Mennye,'* 
continues  Burckhardt,  "  we  passed  a  small  rivulet, 
which  waters  Wady  Lymoun.  At  about  an  hour's 
distance  from  our  road,  up  in  the  mountain,  we  saw 
the  village  Sendjol,  about  half  an  hour  to  the  west 
of  which  lies  the  village  Hottein.  In  forty-five 
minutes  we  passed  the  large  branch  of  the  Wady 
Lymoun.  The  mountains  which  border  the  lake, 
here  terminate  in  a  perpendicular  cliff,  which  i» 
basaltish,  with  an  upper  stratum  of  calcareous  rock ; 
and  the  shore  changes  from  the  direction  S.W.  by  S. 
to  that  of  S.  by  £.  In  the  angle  stands  the  miserable 
village  El  Medjdel,  one  hour  distant  from  Ain-el-Tin. 
The  Wady  Hamam  branches  off  from  Medjdel.  Pro- 
ceeding from  hence,  the  shore  of  the  lake  is  over- 
grown with  defle  (solatium  furiosum),  and  there  are 
several  springs  close  to  the  water's  side.  At  the  end 
of  two  hours  and  a  quarter  from  Ain-el-Tin,  we 
reached  Tabaria."f 

We  must  now,  for  the  present,  take  leave  of  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  this  consecrated  lake,  and  pro- 
ceed to  explore  the  tract  of  country  which  lies  west- 
ward of  Tiberias ;  having  yet  to  visit  Nazareth,  the 
place  where  our  Lord  was  brought  up  ;  Mount  Tabor, 
the  supposed  site  of  the  transfiguration;  and  some 
other  sites  of  peculiar  interest. 

*  Hades,  rendered  '  heir  by  our  translators,  Matt.  xi.  23,  h.  c. 
miserrima  et  valde  atyecta  erit  tua  conditio — Schleusner. 
i  Burckhardfs  Travels  in  Syria,  pp.  320,  321. 


300  PALESTINE;  OK, 


FROM  TIBERIAS  TO  NAZARETH. 

THERE  are  two  direct  roads  to  Nazareth ;  one  by 
Kefer-Sebt  and  El  Khan ;  the  other  by  Louby,  which 
lies  more  to  the  south  ;  but  travellers  usually  diverge 
a  little  from  the  direct  route  to  visit  some  of  the 
sacred  places.  The  distance  is  computed  to  be  nearly 
twenty  miles.  We  here  take  for  our  guides  Burck- 
hardt  and  Dr.  Richardson. 

In  one  hour  from  Tabaria,  the  traveller  passes  a 
spring  called  Ain-el-Rahham.  About  half  an  hour 
further,  he  passes  a  rocky  spot,  with  heaps  of  stones 
scattered  around,  called  Khamsi  Khabshaat,  or  "  the 
place  of  the  five  loaves,"  from  a  belief  that  our  Lord 
here  wrought  the  miracle  of  feeding  the  five  thousand 
with  five  loaves  and  two  fishes.  A  large  black  stone 
is  shewn  as  that  on  which  he  sat.  Unfortunately, 
however,  for  the  credit  of  the  tradition,  the  miracle 
alluded  to  appears  to  have  been  wrought  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  Sea  of  Tiberias,*  Moreover  it  is, 
Mr.  Buckingham  says,  u  on  the  top  of  a  high  and 
rocky  hill ;  so  that  it  does  not  correspond  to  the  local 
features  of  the  place  described  in  any  one  particular, 
and  may  be  cited  as  another  proof  of  the  bungling 
ignorance  of  those  blind  .guides  who  so  proudly  call 
themselves  the  guardians  of  the  holy  places."  Mr. 
Burckhardt  mentions  a  place,  the  distance  of  which 
does  not  agree  with  this,  being  an  hour  further  on, 
called  Hedjar-el-Naszara,  the  "  stones  of  the  Chris- 
tians." Here  are  four  or  five  blocks  of  black  stone, 
upon  which  Christ  is  said  to  have  reclined  while  ad- 
dressing the  multitude  who  flocked  around  him.  The 
priests  of  Nazareth  stopped  to  read  some  prayers  over 

•  Compare  Matt.  xiv.  13,  22,  34,  and  John  ri.  1,  17,  24. 


THE   HOLY    LAND.  301 

the  stones.  The  road  to  this  place  leads  over  a  high, 
uncultivated  plain.  Dr.  Richardson  describes  it  as 
a  very  hilly  country,  but  says,  the  soil  is  deep,  and 
of  a  good  quality,  producing  excellent  pasture ;  it  is, 
however,  poorly  stocked.  Mount  Hermon  and  Mount 
Tabor  appear  at  a  considerable  distance  on  the  left. 
Below  the  Stones,  a  small  plain  called  Sahel  Hottein 
extends  towards  the  N.E.,  the  vale  of  Hutin  of  Po- 
cocke.  The  country  is  intersected  by  wadys.  About 
an  hour's  distance  from  the  Stones,  upon  the  same 
level,  there  is  a  hill  of  an  oblong  shape,  with  two 
projecting  summits  on  one  of  its  extremities :  the 
natives  call  it  Keroun  Hottein^  the  Horns  of  Hottein; 
but  the  Christians  have  given  it  the  appellation  of 
Mons  Bealitudinis^  the  Mount  of  the  Beatitudes, 
under  which  name  it  is  described  by  both  Maundrell 
and  Pococke.  From  the  plain  to  the  south,  it  appears 
like  a  long,  low  hill  with  a  mount  at  each  end,  and 
at  first  sight  the  whole  hill  appears  to  be  rocky  and 
uneven;  but  the  eastern  mount  is  a  level  surface, 
covered  with  fine  herbage.  About  the  middle  of  this 
mount  are  the  foundations  of  a  small  church,  twenty- 
two  feet  square,  on  a  ground  a  little  elevated,  which 
is  the  supposed  place  occupied  by  our  Lord  in  deliver- 
ing the  "  sermon  on  the  mount."  To  the  west  of 
this  is  a  tank  or  under-ground  cistern.  It  is  tedious 
to  have  to  refute  all  the  blundering  legends  which 
so  industriously  misplace  the  occurrences  of  sacred 
history.  It  is  sufficiently  clear,  that  the  mountain 
into  which  our  Lord  had  retired  from  the  multitude, 
when  his  disciples  came  to  him  on  the  occasion  re- 
ferred to,  was  near  Capernaum,  *"  to  which  lie  de- 
scended immediately  from  the  hill ;  for,  "  when  he  • 

*  Compare  Matt.  viii.  5.    Luke  vii.  I. 


302  PALESTINE;  OR, 

had  ended  all  his  sayings  in  the  audience  of  the  peo- 
ple, he  entered  into"  that  town.  That  Capernaum 
was  not  in  this  direction,  is  equally  certain,  on  ac- 
count of  the  distance  from  the  coast.  The  Horns  of 
Hottein  cannot  be  less  distant  from  the  plains  of  Gen- 
nesareth  than  from  ten  to  twelve  miles.  If  it  has  no 
pretensions,  however,  to  its  Christian  name,  the  view 
which  is  afforded  from  its  elevated  summit,  amply 
repays  the  ascent,  and  justifies  the  taste  of  the  ubi- 
quitous Helena,  or  whoever  fixed  upon  this  site  for 
the  chapel  of  the  beatitudes.  "  For  its  grandeur," 
says  Dr.  Clarke,  "  independently  of  the  interest  ex- 
cited by  the  different  objects,  there  is  nothing  equal 
to  it  in  the  Holy  Land.  From  this  situation  we 
perceived  that  the  plain  over  which  we  had  been 
riding  (from  Turan)  is  itself  very  elevated.  Far 
beneath  appeared  other  plains,  one  lower  than  the 
other,  in  a  regular  gradation,  reaching  eastward  as 
far  as  the  Sea  of  Galilee.  This  lake,  almost  equal 
in  the  grandeur  of  its  appearance  to  that  of  Geneva, 
spreads  its  waters  over  all  the  lower  territory,  ex- 
tending from  the  north-east  towards  the  south-west. 
Its.  eastern  shores  exhibit  a  sublime  scene  of  moun- 
tains towards  the  north  and  south,  and  they  seem  to 
close  it  in  at  either  extremity.  The  cultivated  plains 
reaching  to  its  borders,  which  we  beheld  at  an 
amazing  depth  below,  resembled,  by  the  various  hues 
their  different  produce  presented,  the  motley  pattern 
of  a  vast  carpet.  To  the  north  appeared  snowy 
summits,  towering  beyond  a  series  of  intervening 
mountains. "...  .To  the  south-west,  at  the  distance 
of  only  twelve  miles,  we  beheld  Mount  Tabor,  having 
a  conical  form,  and  standing  quite  insular  upon  the 

•  Probably  Djebel  Sheikh. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  303 

northern  side  of  the  wide  plains  of  Esdraelon.  The 
mountain  whence  this  superb  view  was  presented,  con- 
sists entirely  of  limestone  ;  the  prevailing  constituent 
of  ail  the  mountains  in  Greece,  Asia  Minor,  Syria, 
Phenicia,  and  Palestine."* 

The  country  becomes  better  inhabited,  though  the 
road  still  leads  over  an  uneven,  uncultivated  track,  as 
the  traveller  approaches  Refer  Kenna,  or  Cane  Galil ; 
the  Cana  where  Christ  performed  his  first  miracle,  of 
turning  water  into  wine.  Dr.  Richardson  says,  that 
they  passed  several  comfortable  villages,  with  consi- 
derable cultivation  on  the  hills  and  valleys  round  them. 
Cana  itself  is  a  neat  village,  with  a  copious  spring, 
surrounded  with  plantations  of  olive  and  other  fruit 
trees.  Burckhardt  makes  it  four  hours  and  a  quarter, 
Dr.  Richardson  about  five  hours  and  a  half,  from 
Tiberias ;  but  possibly  their  rate  of  travelling  differed, 
and  the  distance  may  safely  be  computed  at  between 
fifteen  and  sixteen  miles.  "  Here,"  says  the  latter. 
"  in  a  small  Greek  church,  we  were  shewn  an  old 
stone  pot,  made  of  the  common  compact  limestone  of 
the  country,  which,  the  hierophant  informed  us,  is  one 
of  the  original  pots  that  contained  the  water  which 

«  Travels,  &c.  vol.  iv.  (8vo.)  pp.  201,  202.  Pococke  ha*  given 
a  more  specific  account  of  the  objects  included  in  this  extensive 
prospect.  "  To  the  S.W.  I  saw  Jebel  Sejar  extending  to  Sephor, 
the  tops  of  Carmel,  then  Jebel  Turan  near  the  Plain  of  Zabulon, 
which  extends  to  Jebel  Huttin.  Beginning  at  the  N.  W.  and  going 
to  the  N.E.,  I  saw  Jebel  Igermick,  about  which  they  named  to 
me  these  places :  Sekeneen,  Elbany,  Sejaour,  Nan,  Rameh,  Mogor, 
Orady,  Trenon,  Kobresiad ;  and  further  E.  on  other  hills,  Meirom, 
Toltin  on  a  hill,  and  Nou  *y.  Directly  N.  of  Huttin,  and  to  the 
E.  of  the  hill  on  which  that  city  stands,  Khan  Tehar  and  Khan 
Eminie  were  mentioned  ;  and  to  the  N.  of  the  Sea  of  Tiberias,  I 
saw  Jebel  Sheikh."  Other  villages  were  pointed  out  by  his  guide 
in  other  directions,  but  they  are  names  of  no  interest. 


304  PALESTINE;  OR, 

underwent  this  miraculous  change."  In  the  village, 
Pococke  saw  a  large  ruined  building,  the  walls  of 
which  were  almost  entire;  whether  it  was  a  house 
or  a  church,  he  could  not  well  judge,  but  "  they  say, 
the  house  of  the  marriage  was  on  this  spot."  Near  it 
stood  a  "  large  new  Greek  church," — the  one  above 
mentioned  ;  and  on  the  south  side  of  the  village,  near 
the  fountain,  there  were  the  ruins  of  another  church, 
dedicated  to  St.  Bartholomew,  and  said  to  have  been 
his  house.  It  seems,  however,  that  there  existed  a 
schismatical  division  of  opinion  with  regard  to  the 
whole  legend.  "  The  Greeks,"  he  says,  "  have  a  tra- 
dition, that  the  miracle  was  wrought  at  Gana,  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Plain  of  Zabulon,  about  three  or  four 
miles  N.W.  of  Sepphorah :"  but  these  schismatics 
allow,  that  the  water  was  carried  there  from  this 
fountain,  a  distance  of  four  or  five  miles.  Quaresmius 
fixes  the  miracle  here,  while  Adrichomius  inclines 
to  favour  the  other  at  Kana.  Who  shall  decide,  when 
such  grave  authorities  differ  ?  The  fountain,  however, 
makes  strongly  against  the  said  Adrichomius.  Kepher 
Kenna  contains  about  300  inhabitants,  chiefly  Catholic 
Christians  ;  it  is  pleasantly  situated  on  the  descent  of 
a  hill,  facing  the  south-west. 

The  road  now  ascends,  and  continues  across  chalky 
hills,  overgrown  with  low  shrubs,  till,  in  about  an 
hour  and  a  half,  the  traveller  descends  into  the  de- 
lightful Vale  of  Naszera  (Nazareth).  This  is  described 
as  a  circular  basin  encompassed  by  mountains.  "  It 
seems,"  says  Dr.  Richardson,  "  as  if  fifteen  mountains 
met  to  form  an  enclosure  for  this  delightful  spot: 
they  rise  round  it  like  the  edge  of  a  shell,  to  guard 
it  from  intrusion.  It  is  a  rich  and  beautiful  field 
in  the  midst  of  barren  mountains ;  it  abounds  in  fig- 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  305 

trees,  small  gardens,  and  hedges  of  the  prickly  pear  ; 
and  the  dense,  rich  grass  affords  an  abundant  pasture. 
The  village  stands  on  an  elevated  situation,  on  the 
west  side  of  the  valley.  The  convent  stands  at  the  east 
end  of  the  village,  on  the  high  ground,  just  where  the 
rocky  surface  joins  the  valley. 

Nassara,  or  Naszera,  is  one  of  the  principal  towns 
in  the  pashalic  of  Acre.     Its  inhabitants  are  indus- 
trious, because  they  are  treated  with  less  severity  than 
those  of  the  country-towns  in  general.    The  population 
is  estimated  at  3000,  of  whom  500  are  Turks ;  the 
remainder  are    Christians.     There  are  about  ninety 
Latin  families,    according   to   Burckhardt ;    but  Mr. 
Connor  reports  the  Greeks  to  be  the  most  numerous  : 
t^ere  is,  besides,  a  congregation  of  Greek  Catholics, 
and  another  of  Maronites.     The  Latin  convent  is  a 
very  spacious  and  commodious  building,  which  was 
thoroughly  repaired  and  considerably  enlarged  in  1730. 
The  remains  of  the  more  ancient  edifice,  ascribed  to 
the  mother  of  Constantino,  may  be  observed  in  the 
form  of  subverted  columns,  with  fragments  of  capitals 
and  bases  of  pillars,  lying  near  the  modern  building. 
Pococke  noticed,  over   a  door,  an  old  alto-relief  of 
Judith  cutting  off  the  head  of  Holofernes.  Within  the 
convent  is  the  Church  of  the  Annunciation,  containing 
the  house  of  Joseph  and  Mary,  the  length  of  which  is 
not  quite  the  breadth  of  the  church,  but  it  forms  the 
principal  part  of  it.     The  columns  and  all  the  interior 
of  the  church  are  hung  round  with  damask  silk,  which 
gives  it  a  warm  and  rich  appearance.     Behind  the 
great  altar,  is  a   subterranean  cavern,  divided   into 
small  grottoes,  where  the  Virgin  is  said  to  have  lived. 
Her  kitchen,  parlour,  and  bed-room  are  shewn,  and 
also  a  narrow  hole  in  the  rock,  in  which  the  child 


306  PALESTINE  ;    OR, 

Jesus  once  hid  himself  from  his  persecutors.*  The 
pilgrims  who  visit  these  holy  spots,  are  in  the  habit  of 
knocking  off  small  pieces  of  stone  from  the  walls, 
which  are  thus  considerably  enlarging.  In  the  church 
a  miracle  is  still  exhibited  to  the  faithful.  In  front  of 
the  altar  are  two  granite  columns,  each  two  feet  one 
inch  in  diameter,  and  about  three  feet  apart.  They 
are  supposed  to  occupy  the  very  places  where  the 
angel  and  the  Virgin  stood  at  the  precise  moment  of 
the  annunciation. -f-  The  innermost  of  these,  that  of 
the  Virgin,  has  been  Broken  away,  some  say  by  the 
Turks,  in  expectation  of  finding  treasure  under  it ; 
"  so  that,"  as  Maundrell  states,  "  eighteen  inches' 
length  of  it  is  clean  gone  between  the  pillar  and 
the  pedestal."  Nevertheless  it  remains  erect,  sus- 
pended from  the  roof,  as  if  attracted  by  a  load-stone. 
It  has  evidently  no  support-  below ;  and  though  it 
touches  the  roof,  the  hierophant  protests  that  it  has 
none  above.  "  All  the  Christians  of  Nazareth,"  says 
Burckhardt,  "  with  the  friars  of  course  at  their  head, 
affect  to  believe  in  this  miracle,  though  it  is  perfectly 
evident  that  the  upper  part  of  the  column  is  connected 
with  the  roof."  "  The  fact  is,"  says  Dr.  Clarke, 
"  that  the  capital  and  a  piece  of  the  shaft  of  a  pillar 


*  Pococke  says :  "  They  shew  the  spot  from  which  they  say  the 
holy  house  of  Loretto  was  removed."  The  story  of  its  flight  was 
gravely  repeated  to  Mr.  Jolliffe ;  and  he  says,  there  are  indentures 
in  the  wall  to  designate  the  space  the  apartment  occupied,  about 
twelve  or  fourteen  feet  by  eight ! 

t  "  These  pillars  are  said  to  have  been  erected  by  St.  Helena,  she 
having  been  divinely  informed  of  the  exact  places :  though  this 
the  Greeks  dispute  with  the  Latins,  alleging,  that  the  angel,  not 
finding  the  Virgin  at  home,  followed  her  to  the  fountain,  whither 
she  was  gone  to  fetch  water,  and  there  delivered  his  message."— 
VAN  EOMOXT'S  Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  18. 


THE   HOLY  LAND.  307 

granite  have  been  fastened  on  to  the  roof  of 
the  cave  ;  and  so  clumsily  is  the  rest  of  the  hocus  pocua 
contrived,  that  what  is  shewn  for  the  lower  fragment 
of  the  same  pillar  resting  upon  the  earth,  is  not  of  the 
same  substance,  but  of  Cipolino  marble.  About  this 
pillar,  a  different  story  has  been  related  by  almost 
every  traveller  since  the  trick  was  devised.  Maun- 
drell  and  Egmont  and  Heyman  were  told,  that  it  was 
broken,  in  search  of  hidden  treasure,  by  a  pasha  who 
was  struck  with  blindness  for  his  impiety.*  We  were 
assured  that  it  separated  in  this  manner,  when  the 
angel  announced  to  the  Virgin  the  tidings  of  her  con- 
ception. The  monks  had  placed  a  rail,  to  prevent 
persons  infected  with  the  plague  from  coming  to 
rub  against  these  pillars ;  this  had  been  for  many 
years  their  constant  practice,  whenever  afflicted  with 
any  sickness.  The  reputation  of  the  broken  pillar, 
for  healing  every  kind  of  disease,  prevails  all  over 
Galilee." 

Burckhardt  says,  that  this  church,  next  to  that 
of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  is  the  finest  in  Syria,  and 
contains  two  tolerably  good  organs.  Within  the  walls 
of  the  convent  are  two  gardens,  and  a  small  burying 
ground  :  the  walls  are  very  thick,  and  serve  occasion- 
ally as  a  fortress  to  all  the  Christians  in  the  town. 
There  are  at  present  eleven  friars  in  the  convent ; 
they  are  chiefly  Spaniards.  The  yearly  expenses  of 
the  establishment  are  stated  to  amount  to  upwards  of 
900/.  a  small  part  of  which  is  defrayed  by  the  rent 
of  a  few  houses  in  the  town,  and  by  the  produce  of 
some  acres  of  corn-land  :  the  rest  is  remitted  from 
Jerusalem.  The  whole  annual  expenses  of  the  Terra 

*  Bernardin  Surius,  President  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  and  Com- 
missary of  the  Holy  Land,  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  ascribes  the  fracture  to  a  mogi-etoin. 


308  PALESTINE;  OR, 

Santa  convents  are  about  15,000/.,  of  which  the  Pusha 
of  Damascus  receives  about  12,000/.  The  Greek  con- 
vent of  Jerusalem,  according  to  Burckhardt's  autho- 
rity, pays  much  more,  as  well  to  maintain  its  own 
privileges,  as  with  a  view  to  encroach  upon  those  of 
the  Latins. 

To  the  north-west  of  the  convent  is  a  small  church, 
built  over  Joseph's  workshop.  Both  Maundrell  and 
Pococke  describe  it  as  in  ruins  ;  but  Dr.  Clarke  says  : 
"  This  is  now  a  small  chapel,  perfectly  modern,  and 
neatly  white-washed."  To  the  west  of  this  is  a  small 
arched  building,  which,  they  say,  is  the  synagogue 
where  Christ  exasperated  the  Jews,  by  applying  the 
language  of  Isaiah  to  himself.*  It  once  belonged  to 
the  Greeks ;  but,  Hasselquist  says,  was  taken  from 
them  by  the  Arabs,  who  intended  to  convert  it  into  a 
mosque,  but  afterwards  sold  it  to  the  Latins.  This 
was  then  so  late  a  transaction,  that  they  had  not  had 
time  to  embellish  it.  The  "  Mountain  of  the  Precipi- 
tation," is  at  least  two  miles  off ;  so  that,  according 
to  this  authentic  tradition,  the  Jews  must  have  led  our 
Lord  a  marvellous  way.  But  the  said  precipice  is 
shewn  as  that  which  the  Messiah  leaped  down  to  escape 
from  the  Jews  ;  and  as  the  monks  could  not  pitch 
upon  any  other  place  frightful  enough  for  the  miracle, 
they  contend  that  Nazareth  formerly  stood  eastward  of 
its  present  situation,  upon  a  more  elevated  spot.  Dr. 
Clarke,  however,  says,  that  the  situation  of  the  modern 
town  answers  exactly  to  the  description  of  St.  Luke. 
"  Induced/'  he  says,  "  by  the  words  of  the  Gospel,  to 

*  Luke  iv.  16,  28.  Mr.  Jolliffe,  apparently  alluding  to  the  same 
building,  describes  it  as  "  the  school  where  Christ  received  the 
first  rudiments  of  his  education."  Major  Mackworth  was  told 
the  same  tale  in  1821 ;  so  that  this  appears  the  newest  and  most 
approved  tradition. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  309 

examine  the  place  more  attentively  than  we  should 
otherwise  have  done,  we  went,  as  it  is  written,  out 
of  the  city,  '  to  the  brow  of  the  hill  whereon  the  city 
is  built,'  and  came  to  a  precipice  corresponding  to  the 
words  of  the  Evangelist.  It  is  above  the  Maronite 
church,  and  probably  the  precise  spot  alluded  to  by 
the  text." 

But  the  most  precious  and  celebrated  relic  of  which 
Nazareth  can  boast,  is  our  Lord's  dining-table,  a  large 
stone  at  which  the  monks  affirm  that  he  dined  both 
before  and  after  his  resurrection.  It  is  of  the  common 
hard  limestone  of  the  country,  is  stuck  fast  in  the 
ground,  and  its  upper  surface  declines.  Hasselquist 
states,  that  it  is  said  to  have  been  formerly  covered 
with  iron  plates,  "  the  marks  of  which  are  yet  to  be 
seen."  They  have  built  a  chapel  over  it ;  and  upon 
the  walls,  several  copies  of  a  printed  certificate  are 
affixed,  asserting  its  title  to  reverence.*  There  is  not, 
Dr.  Clarke  says,  an  object  in  all  Nazareth  so  much 
the  resort  of  pilgrims,  Greeks,  Catholics,  Arabs,  and 
even  Turks,  as  this  stone ;  "  the  two  former  classes, 
on  account  of  the  seven  years'  indulgence  granted 
to  those  who  visit  it ;  the  two  latter,  because  they 
believe  that  some  virtue  must  reside  within  a  stone 
before  which  all  comers  are  so  eager  to  prostrate 
themselves." 

"  About  a  furlong  to  the  north  of  the  village,  is 


*  Papal  certificate,  transcribed  by  Dr.  Clarke.  — "  Tradictio 
oontinua  est,  et  nunquam  interrupta,  apud  omnet  nationes  Orientates, 
hanc  petram,  dictam  Mensa  Christi,  Mam  iptam  ease  supra  quam 
Dominus  noster  Jesus  CAm  'v«  cum  suit  comedit  Discipulis,  ante 
et  post  sitam  resurrectionem  a  mot-tuts*  Et  Sancta  Romana  Ec- 
clesia  Jndulgentiam  concessit  septem  annorum  et  totideni  quadra- 
genarum,  omnibus  Christi  fidclibut  hunc  sanctum  locum  visit  antibus, 
recitando  saltern  tin  union  Pater,  et  Ave,  dvmnwdo  sit  in  ttatu 
gratia." 


310  PALESTINE  ;    OR, 

a  fountain,  over  which  is  an  arch  ;  it  runs  into  a 
beautiful  marble  vase,  that  seems  to  have  been  a 
tomb.  Beyond  it  is  a  Greek  church,  under-ground, 
where,  the  Greeks  say,  the  angel  Gabriel  first  saluted 
the  Blessed  Virgin ;  there  is  a  fountain  in  it,  and 
formerly,  there  was  a  church  built  over  it."  * 

The  road  to  the  "  mountain  of  the  precipitation" 
lies  over  a  tolerably  level  space  for  about  a  mile,  wind- 
ing in  a  southern  direction  ;  it  then  becomes  necessary 
to  dismount,  on  account  of  the  ruggedness  of  the  road, 
which  descends  into  a  deep  ravine  between  two  hills. 
After  scrambling  up  the  southern  point  for  about  a 
quarter  of  an  hour,  you  arrive  at  an  altar  in  a  recess 
hewn  out  of  the  rock,  and  some  remains  of  a  mosaic 
pavement.  Near  it  are  two  large  circular  cisterns, 
well  stuccoed  inside,  and  several  portions  of  buildings, 
said  to  be  the  remains  of  an  establishment  founded 
by  St.  Helena.  The  monks  come  here  sometimes,  to 
celebrate  mass.  Immediately  over  this  spot,  about 
forty  feet  higher,  two  large  flat  stones  are  set  up 
edgeways,  like  a  parapet  wall,  close  to  the  edge  of  the 
precipice ;  and  here,  they  say,  the  Jews  would  have 
thrown  down  our  Saviour.  In  the  centre,  and  scat- 
tered over  different  parts  of  one  of  them,  are  several 
round  marks,  like  the  deep  imprint  of  fingers  in  wax, 
which  are  shewn  as  the  prints  of  Christ's  hands  and 

*  Pococke.— Dr.  Clarke  speaks  of  a  fountain  in  the  valley, 
which  he  denominates  the  Fountain  of  the  Virgin,  but  which 
Pococke  calls  Beer-Emir,  the  Well  of  the  Prince,  where  he  saw 
an  ancient  marble  coffin,  with  three  festoons  in  relief.  It  is  to 
the  west  of  Nazareth.  Mr.  JolliflFe  says :  "  In  a  Greek  church, 
about  two  furlongs  from  this  spot  (Mensa  Christi),  there  is  a 
fountain  where  the  mother  of  Jesus  was  accustomed  to  resort ; 
the  water  is  pure  and  of  sweet  flavour."  Dr.  Clarke  has  pro- 
bably confounded  this  Fountain  of  the  Virgin  with  Beer- 
Emir. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  311 

feet,  when  he  resisted  the  Jews,  and  so  escaped  being 
precipitated  ;  although  other  authorities,  equally  ere- 
ditable,  state  that  he  leaped  down,  and  Brocardus 
says,  the  place  is  called  Saltus  Domini^  the  Lord's  leap. 
This  is  assuredly  the  most  bungling  of  all  the  absurd 
traditions  which  have  been  coined  by  the  fertile  brains 
of  the  monks.  The  situation  is  all  but  inaccessible  ; 
it  is  not  on  a  hill  on  which  Nazareth  could  ever  have 
been  built ;  it  is  two  miles  from  the  supposed  syna- 
gogue ;  and,  as  if  the  representation  which  makes  our 
Lord  cling  to  a  stone  for  safety,  were  not  absurd 
enough,  the  supposed  marks  are  such  as  could  not 
have  been  made  by  any  possible  position  of  the  human 
hand  in  a  less  unyielding  substance. 

When  the  French  invaded  Syria,  Nazareth  was 
occupied  by  six  or  eight  hundred  men,  whose  ad- 
vanced posts  were  at  Tabaria  and  Szaffad.  Two 
hours  from  hence,  in  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon,  near  the 
village  of  Foule,  General  Kleber  sustained,  with  a 
corps  not  exceeding  1,500  men,  the  attack  of  the  whole 
Syrian  army,  amounting,  it  is  said,  to  25,000.  Having 
formed  his  battalion  into  a  square,  he  continued  fight- 
ing from  sun-rise  to  mid-day,  until  they  had  expended 
almost  all  their  ammunition.  Bonaparte,  informed  of 
his  perilous  situation,  then  advanced  to  his  support 
with  600  men ;  at  the  sight  of  whom  the  Turks,  panic- 
struck,  took  precipitately  to  flight :  several  thousands 
were  killed,  and  many  drowned  in  the  river  Daboury, 
which  then  inundated  part  of  the  plain.  Bonaparte 
dined  at  Nazareth,  and  then  returned  to  Acre.  After 
the  retreat  of  the  French  from  Acre,  Djezzar  Pasha 
resolved  on  causing  all  the  Christians  in  his  dominions 
to  be  massacred,  and  had  actually  sent  orders  to  that 
effect  to  Nazareth  and  Jerusalem.  But  Sir  Sidney 
Smith,  on  being  apprized  of  his  intention,  sent  him 


312  PALESTINE  ;    OR, 

word,  that  if  a  single  Christian  head  should  fall,  he 
would  bombard  Acre,  and  set  it  on  fire.  Sir  Sidney's 
interference  is  still  remembered  with  heartfelt  grati- 
tude by  all  the  Christians,  who  look  upon  him  as  their 
deliverer.  "  His  word,"  says  Burckhardt,  "  I  have 
often  heard  both  Turks  and  Christians  exclaim,  was 
like  God's  word — it  never  failed."  * 

The  Christians  of  Nazareth  enjoy  great  liberty. 
"  I  was  told,"  says  the  last-mentioned  traveller,  "  that 
about  thirty  years  ago,  the  padre  guardiano  of  the 
convent  was  also  sheikh,  or  chief -justice  of  the  town, 
an  office  for  which  he  paid  a  certain  yearly  sum  to  the 
Pasha  of  Acre.  The  police  of  the  place  was  conse- 
quently in  his  hands ;  and  when  any  disturbance 
happened,  the  reverend  father  used  to  take  his  stick, 
repair  to  the  spot,  and  lay  about  him  freely,  no  matter 
whether  upon  Turks  or  Christians."  The  guardian 
has  still  much  influence  in  the  town ;  and  the  fathers 
of  the  convent  go  a  shooting  in  their  monastic  habits, 
to  several  hours'  distance  from  the  town,  withoxit  ever 
being  insulted  by  the  Turks.  At  the  time  of  Burck- 
hardt's  visit,  however,  the  personage  of  chief  conse- 
quence at  Nazareth,  was  M.  Catafogo,  a  native  of 
Aleppo,  but  of  Frank  origin.  He  rented  from  the 
Pasha  about  twelve  villages  in  the  neighbourhood,  for 
about  3000J.  and  his  profits  were  said  to  be  consider- 
able. He  was  a  merchant,  and  meddled  much  in  the 
politics  and  intrigues  of  the  country,  by  which  means 
he  had  become  a  person  of  great  consequence. 

ROUTE  FROM  NAZARETH  TO  SZALT. 

FHOM  Nazareth  there  is  a  route,  frequented  by 
merchants,  through  Bisan  to  Szalt,  which  was  taken 

»  Burckhardt's  Travels  i.i  Syria,  pp.  340,  341. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  313 

by  Burckhardt.  In  two  hours  from  Nazareth,  he 
passed  a  small  rivulet ;  in  two  hours  and  a  half,  the 
village  Denouny,  and  near  it,  the  ruins  of  Endor, 
where,  he  says,  the  witch's  grotto  is  shewn.  He 
crossed  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon,  in  a  S.S.E.  direction  ; 
and,  leaving  Mount  Tabor  to  the  left,  in  five  hours 
and  a  half  reached  the  village  of  Om-el-Taybe,  be- 
longing to  the  district  of  Djebel  Nablous,  or,  as  it 
is  also  called,  Belled  Harthe.  At  six  hours  and  three 
quarters,  he  passed  the  village  of  Meraszrasz,  upon 
the  summit  of  a  chain  of  hills  on  the  side  of  Wady 
Oeshe,  which  falls  into  the  Jordan  ;  and  then  descend- 
ing, in  about  seven  hours  and  three  quarters  from 
Nazareth,  reached  the  bottom  of  the  Valley  of  El 
Ghor.  Half  an  hour  further,  pursuing  the  valley 
southwards,  brought  him  to  Bisan.  Here  the  chain  of 
mountains  bordering  the  valley,  declines  considerably 
in  height,  presenting  merely  elevated  ground,  quite 
open  to  the  west ;  but  at  one  hour's  distance,  towards 
the  south,  the  mountains  begin  again.  Crossing  the 
valley  in  a  S.S.E.  direction,  our  traveller  arrived  at 
the  banks  of  the  Jordan,  where  it  is  fordable ;  it  was 
then  (July)  about  eighty  paces  broad,  and  about  three 
feet  deep.  After  passing  the  river,  he  continued  his 
route  close  along  the  foot  of  the  eastern  mountain. 
In  half  an  hour  from  the  ford,  he  crossed  Wady 
Mous  ;  in  one  hour  and  a  quarter,  Wady  Yabes  ;  and 
in  two  hours  came  to  a  stony  and  hilly  district,  inter- 
sected by  several  deep  but  dry  wadys,  called  Korn-el- 
^Hemar,  the  ass's  horn :  it  projects  into  the  Ghor 
about  four  miles,  and,  when  seen  from  the  north, 
appears  to  close  the  valiey.  A  fertile  tract  succeeds  to 
this  hilly  ground,  overgrown  with  bouttom,  or  wild 
pistachio-trees.  At  the  end  of  six  hours,  the  traveller 
passed  to  the  right  the  ruins  of  Amata,  on  the  decli- 


314  PALESTINE;  OR, 

vity  of  the  mountain,  whence  a  small  rivulet  descends 
into  the  plain.  In  six  hours  and  a  half  he  reached 
Mezar  Abou  Obeida.  A  quarter  of  an  hour  further  is 
the  northern  branch  of  Nahr-el-Zerka,  the  principal 
stream  being  at  the  distance  of  one  hour  from  Abou 
Obeida.  The  road  then  ascends  the  mountain  by  a 
steep  acclivity :  it  is  calcareous  rock,  with  layers  of 
various-coloured  sand-stone  and  basalt.  On  the  sum- 
mit  is  a  ruined  site,  which  the  Arabs  called  ElMeysera. 
The  road  continues  over  an  uneven  tract,  along  the 
summit  of  the  mountain  ridge,  which  forms  the 
northern  limits  of  the  district  called  El  Belka. 
"  Here,"  says  Burckhardt,  "  we  were  refreshed  by 
cool  winds,  and  every  where  found  a  grateful  shade  of 
fine  oak,  and  wild  pistachio-trees,  with  a  scenery  more 
like  that  of  Europe  than  any  I  had  yet  seen  in  Syria." 
At  the  end  of  two  hours  from  Meysera,  he  reached 
the  foot  of  the  mountain  called  Djebel  Djelaad,  or 
Djelaoud,  the  Gilead  of  the  Scriptures,  on  which  there 
is  a  ruined  town  of  the  same  name.  In  three  hours 
and  a  quarter,  he  passed  near  the  top  of  Djebel  Osha, 
which  overlooks  the  whole  of  the  Belka.  The  forest 
here  grows  thicker,  consisting  of  oak,  pistachio,  balout, 
and  keykab  trees.  In  three  hours  and  three  quarters, 
he  descended  the  southern  side  of  the  mountain  near 
the  tomb  of  Osha ;  and  in  three  quarters  of  an  hour 
more,  reached  Szalt.  We  have  given  this  brief  outline 
of  the  whole  route  from  Nazareth,  as  it  occurs  in 
Burckhardt,  but  reserve  a  further  description  of  the 
country  east  of  the  Jordan  for  another  place. 

MOUNT  TABOR. 

MOUNT  TABOR,  having  been  pitched  upon  as  the 
scene  of  the  Transfiguration,  ranks  among  the  sacred 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  315 

places  to  which  pilgrims  repair  from  Nazareth.     It  is 
minutely  described  by  both  Pococke  and  Maundrell. 

The  road  from  Nazareth  lies  for  two  hours  between 
low  hills  ;  it  then  opens  into  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon. 
At  about  two  or  three  furlongs  within  the  plain,  and 
six  miles  from  Nazareth,  rises  this  singular  mount, 
which  is  almost  entirely  insulated,  its  figure  repre- 
senting a  half-sphere.*  "  It  is,"  says  Pococke,  "  one 
of  the  finest  hills  I  ever  beheld,  being  a  rich  soil  that 
produces  excellent  herbage,  and  is  most  beautifully 
adorned  with  groves  and  clumps  of  trees.  The  ascent 
is  so  easy,  that  we  rode  up  the  north  side  by  a  winding 
road.  Some  authors  mention  it  as  near  four  miles 
high,  others  as  about  two  :  the  latter  may  be  true,  as 
io  the  winding  ascent  up  the  hill.  The  top  of  it, 
which  is  about  half  a  mile  long,  and  near  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  broad,  is  encompassed  with  a  wall,  which 
Josephus  built  in  forty  days  :  there  was  also  a  wall 
along  the  middle  of  it,  which  divided  the  south  part, 
on  which  the  city  stood,  from  the  north  part,  which  is 
lower,  and  is  called  the  meidan,  or  place,  being  pro- 
bably used  for  exercises  when  there  was  a  city  here, 
which  Josephus  mentions  by  the  name  of  Ataburion. 
Within  the  outer  wall  on  the  north  side,  are  several 
deep  fosses,  out  of  which,  it  is  probable,  the  stones 
were  dug  to  build  the  walls  ;  and  these  fosses  seem 
to  have  answered  the  end  of  cisterns,  to  preserve  the 
rain-water,  and  were  also  some  defence  to  the  city. 
There  are  likewise  a  great  number  of  cisterns  under- 
ground, for  preserving  the  rain-water.  To  the  south, 
where  the  ascent  was  most  easy,  there  are  fosses  cut 
on  the  outside,  to  render  the  access  to  the  walls  more 


*  Mr.  Jolliffe  says,  "  that  of  a  cone  with  the  point  struck  off;" 
which  most  correctly  describes  its  appearance. 


316  PALESTINE;  OR, 

difficult.  Some  of  the  gates  also  of  the  city  remain  : 
as  Bab-el-houah,  the  gate  of  the  winds,  to  the  west : 
and  Bab-el-kubbe,  the  arched  gate,  a  small  one  to  the 
south.*  Antiochus,  King  of  Syria,  took  the  fortress 
on  the  top  of  this  hill.  Vespasian  also  got  possession  of 
it ;  and,  after  that,  Josephus  fortified  it  with  strong 
walls.  But  what  has  made  it  more  famous  than  any 
thing  else,  is  the  common  opinion,  from  the  time  of 
St.  Jerome,  that  the  transfiguration  of  our  Saviour 
was  on  this  mountain.  On  the  east  part  of  the  hill 
are  the  remains  of  a  strong  castle ;  and  within  the 
precinct  of  it  is  the  grot,  in  which  are  three  altars  in 
memory  of  the  three  tabernacles  which  St.  Peter  pro- 
posed to  build,  and  where  the  Latin  fathers  always 
celebrate  on  the  day  of  the  Transfiguration.  It  is 
said,  there  was  a  magnificent  church  built  here  by 
St.  Helena,  which  was  a  cathedral  when  this  town 
was  made  a  bishop's  see.  There  was  formerly  a  con- 
vent of  Benedictine  monks  here  ;  and,  on  another  part 
of  the  hill,  a  monastery  of  Basilians,  where  the  Greeks 
have  an  altar,  and  perform  their  service  on  the  festival 
of  the  Transfiguration.  On  the  side  of  the  hill,  they 
shew  a  church  in  a  grot,  where  they  say  Christ 
charged  his  disciples  not  to  tell  what  things  they  had 
seen  till  he  was  glorified." + 


*  Burckhardt,  describing  the  spot,  says :  "  A  thick  wall,  con- 
structed of  large  stones,  may  be  traced  quite  round  the  summit, 
close  to  the  edge  of  the  precipice:  on  several  parts  of  it  are  the 
remains  of  bastions.  The  area  is  overspread  with  the  ruins  of  pri- 
vate dwellings,  built  of  stone  with  great  solidity." 

f  "  I  cannot  forbear  to  mention  in  this  place  an  observation, 
which  is  very  obvious  to  all  that  visit  the  Holy  Land,  viz.  that 
almost  all  passages  and  histories  related  in  the  Gospel,  are  repre- 
sented by  them  that  undertake  to  shew  where  every  thing  was 
done,  as  having  been  done  most  of  them  in  grottoes;  and  that 
even  In  such  cases  where  the  condition  and  the  circumstances  of 


THE  HOLY   LAND.  317 

Maundreil's  account  is  singularly  at  variance  with 
the  above  description,  in  respect  to  the  extent  of  the 
plain  on  the  summit.  "  After  a  very  laborious  as- 
cent," he  says,  "  which  took  up  near  an  hour,  we 
reached  the  highest  part  of  the  mountain.  It  has 
a  plain  area  at  top,  most  fertile  and  delicious,  of  an 
oval  figure,  extended  about  one  furlong  in  breadth, 
and  two  in  length.  This  area  is  enclosed  with  trees 
on  all  parts,  except  toward  the  south."  Hasselquist 
agrees  more  nearly  with  Pococke,  but  yet  differs  from 
both.  "  After  travelling  two  hours  (from  Nazareth), 
we  began  to  ascend  Tabor,  cooled  by  its  agreeable 
dew,  and  refreshed  by  the  milk  of  its  fine  herds  of 
goats.  It  was  a  league  up  to  the  top,  stony  and 
difficult ;  but  we  did  not,  however,  dismount.  On 
the  top  of  it  is  a  fine  plain,  the  sides  of  it  rocky.  The 
hill  is  round,  hath  no  precipices,  is  about  four  leagues 
in  circumference,  beautiful  and  fruitful."  Van  Eg- 
mont  and  Heyman  give  the  following  account : — 
"  This  mountain,  though  somewhat  rugged  and  diffi- 
cult, we  ascended  on  horseback,  making  several  circuits 


the  actions  themselves  seem  to  require  places  of  another  nature. 
Thus,  if  you  would  see  the  place  where  St.  Anne  was  delivered  of 
the  blessed  Virgin,  you  are  carried  to  a  grotto ;  if  the  place  of 
the  Annunciation,  it  is  also  a  grotto;  if  the  place  where  the 
blessed  Virgin  saluted  Elizabeth,  if  that  of  the  Baptist's,  or  that 
of  our  blessed  Saviour's  nativity,  if  that  of  the  agony,  or  that  of 
St.  Peter's  repentance,  or  that  where  the  apostles  made  the  creed, 
or  this  of  the  transfiguration,  all  these  places  are  also  grottoes. 
And,  in  a  word,  wherever  you  go,  you  find  almost  every  thing 
is  represented  as  done  under  ground.  Certainly  grottoes  were 
anciently  held  in  great  esteem,  or  else  they  could  never  have 
been  assigned,  in  spite  of  all  probability,  for  the  places  in  which 
were  done  so  many  various  actions.  Perhaps  it  was  the  hermits' 
way  of  living  in  grottoes,  from  the  fifth  or  sixth  century  down- 
ward, that  has  brought  them  ever  since  to  be  in  so  great  reputa- 
tion. '—Journey  from  Meppo,  $c. 

T   2 


318  PALESTINE  ;   OR, 

round  it,  which  took  us  up  about  three  quarters  of  an 
hour.  It  is  one  of  the  highest  in  the  whole  country, 
being  thirty  stadia,  or  about  four  English  miles,  a 
circumference  that  rendered  it  more  famous.*  And 
it  is  the  most  beautiful  I  ever  saw,  with  regard  to 
verdure,  being  every  where  decorated  with  small  oak 
trees,  and  the  ground  universally  enamelled  with  a 
variety  of  plants  and  flowers,  except  on  the  south  side, 

where  it  is  not  so  fully  covered  with  verdure. -j- 

On  this  mountain  are  great  numbers  of  red  partridges, 
and  some  wild-boars ;  and  we  were  so  fortunate  as  to 
see  the  Arabs  hunting  them.  We  left,  but  not  with- 
out reluctancy,  this  delightful  place,  and  found  at  the 
bottom  of  it  a  mean  village,  called  Deboura,  or  Tabour, 
a  name  said  to  be  derived  from  the  celebrated  Deborah 
mentioned  in  Judges." 

Pococke  notices  this  village,  which  stands  on  a  rising 
ground  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Tabor  westward ;  and 
the  learned  traveller  thinks,  that  it  may  be  the  same 
as  the  Daberath,  or  Daberah,  mentioned  in  the  Book 
of  Joshua,  as  on  the  borders  of  Zabulon  and  Issachar.^: 
"  Any  one,"  he  adds,  "  who  examines  the  fourth 
chapter  of  Judges,  may  see  that  this  is  probably  the 
spot  where  Barak  and  Deborah  met  at  Mount  Tabor 

*  This  must  refer  to  its  base.  Burckhardt  says,  its  top  is  about 
half  an  hour  in  circuit.  ^ 

f  Hasselquist  enumerates  among  the  productions  of  Mount 
Tabor,  the  oak,  the  carob-tree,  the  turpentine-tree,  the  holly,  the 
myrtle,  the  ivy,  oats,  onion,  artichoke,  rue,  sage,  wormwood, 
saxifrage,  (pimpinella  officinatis,)  poppy,  laserwort,  (fee.  He  also 
saw  there,  the  rock-goat  and  the  fallow-deer  fcervus  dama). 
Burckhardt  mentions  ounces  and  wild  boars.  Van  Egmont  men- 
tions a  tree  which  he  discovered  here,  whose  blossom  resembled 
that  of  the  orange-tree,  and  had  the  same  fragrant  smell ;  but  the 
leaves  were  something  like  those  of  the  linden-tree,  and  the  fruit 
is  gathered  to  make  rosaries. 

$  Josh.  xix.  12;  xxi.  28. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  319 

with  their  forces,  and  went  to  pursue  Sisera ;  and  on 
this  account,  it  might  have  its  name  from  that  great 
prophetess,  who  then  judged  and  governed  Israel ;  for 
Josephus  relates,  that  Deborah  and  Barak  gathered 
the  army  together  at  this  mountain."  This  point 
Josephus  was  not  required  to  prove,  as  the  sacred 
history  contains  explicit  information  on  this  head,  tc 
which  the  Jewish  historian  was  incapable  of  adding  a 
single  particular.  The  name  of  the  village  seems, 
however,  more  probably  to  be  derived  from  the  moun- 
tain, than  from  the  prophetess.  Deborah,  the  name 
of  the  place  where  she  dwelt,  and  to  which  the 
children  of  Israel  came  up  to  her  for  judgment,  was 
between  Ramah  and  Bethel  in  Mount  Ephraim,*  and 
consequently  much  further  to  the  south.  Whereas  in 
Deboura,  or  Dabour,  we  have  the  very  Dabor  or 
Thaboor  of  the  Scriptures,  with  only  that  slight  cor- 
ruption which  the  Hebrew  names  receive,  as  pro- 
nounced by  the  Arabs.  The  mountain  itself  they  call 
Djebel  Tour. 

The  legend  which  assigns  this  mount  as  the  scene 
of  the  Transfiguration,  has  neither  probability  nor 
antiquity  to  recommend  it,  since  it  cannot  be  traced 
further  back  than  Jerome,  a  most  suspicious  authority. 
It  appears,  indeed,  to  have  been  suggested  by  a  critical 
blunder.  We  read  that  our  Lord  took  with  him 
Peter,  and  James,  and  John,  and  brought  them  up 
"  into  a  high  mountain  apart ;"  f  from  which  it  has 
been  sagely  inferred,  that  the  mountain  spoken  of 
could  be  no  other  than  Tabor,  the  word  4  apart'  being 
applied  to  the  position  of  the  mountain.  "  The  con- 
clusion," Maundrell  remarks,  "  may  possibly  be  true, 
but  the  argument  used  to  prove  it  seems  incompetent ; 

•  Judges  iv.S.  t  Matt.  xvii.  1.    Markix.  2. 


320  PALESTINE;  OR, 

because  the  term  *«r  /S/'av,  or  apart,  most  likely  relates 
to  the  withdrawing  and  retirement  of  the  persons  here 
spoken  of,  and  not  to  the  situation  of  the  moun- 
tain." *  Of  the  justness  of  this  remark,  no  one  can 
doubt  who  is  conversant  with  the  original,  since  the 
same  expression  occurs  repeatedly  in  the  evangelical 
narrative,  and  in  every  other  instance  is  understood  in 
the  sense  of  privately,  or  by  themselves,  -f  Now,  for 
the  purpose  of  retirement,  Mount  Tabor  could  hardly 
have  been  chosen  by  our  Lord,  as  there  is  reason  to 
believe,  that  it  was  at  the  time  a  fortress  of  con- 
siderable  consequence.  In  every  instance  in  which 
mention  is  made  of  it  in  history,  it  is  referred  to  as 
a  military  post.  It  v/as  here  that  Barak  encamped 
with  ten  thousand  men,  thirteen  hundred  years  before 
the  Christian  era  ;  and  it  was  still  an  important  post, 
in  the  reign  of  Vespasian.  Populous  as  Galilee  was, 
it  cannot  be  imagined  that  this  fertile  spot  would  ever 
be  deserted  ;  and  we  are  told  that  there  was  a-town 
on  the  summit.  It  was  at  least  a  fortified  place,  and 
not  very  likely,  therefore,  to  have  afforded  a  suitable 
retreat  for  Peter  to  build  there  his  three  tabernacles. 
The  fact  that,  six  days  before  the  Transfiguration, 
our  Lord  was  at  Cesarea  Philippi,  and  that  after  that 
event,  he  departed  from  the  neighbourhood,  and 
"  passed  through  Galilee"  to  Capernaum,  renders  it 
probable  that  the  mountain  to  which  our  Lord  retired, 
was  towards  the  northern  confines  of  the  Holy  Land. 
But  that  it  was  not  Mount  Tabor,  the  reader  must, 
we  think,  feel  satisfied. 

"  From  the  top  of  Tabor,"  says  Maundrell,  "  you 

*  KCC.T  t^ittv,  SC.  %iugeiv,  in  loco  private,  privatim,  seorrim.— 
Schleusner. 

t  See  Matt-  xiv.  13,  23;  xvii-  19  ;  xx.  17;  xxiv.  a  Mark  iv 
34;  vL31,  32. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  321 

have  a  prospect  which,  if  nothing  else,  will  reward 
the  labour  of  ascending  it.  It  is  impossible  for  man's 
eyes  to  behold  a  higher  gratification  of  this  nature. 
On  the  N.W.  you  discern  at  a  distance  the  Mediter- 
ranean, and  all  round  you  have  the  spacious  and 
beautiful  plains  of  Esdraelon  and  Galilee.  Turning 
a  little  southward,  you  have  in  view  the  high  moun- 
tains of  Gilboa,  fatal  to  Saul  and  his  sons.  Due  east 
you  discover  the  Sea  of  Tiberias,  distant  about  one 
day's  journey.  A  few  points  to  the  north  appears 
that  which  they  call  the  Mount  of  the  Beatitudes. 
Not  far  from  this  little  hill  is  the  city  Saphet :  it 
stands  upon  a  very  eminent  and  conspicuous  mountain, 
and  is  seen  far  and  near."  Beyond  this  is  seen  a  much 
higher  mountain,  capped  with  snow,  a  part  of  the 
chain  of  Antilibanus.  To  the  south-west  is  Carmel, 
and  on  the  south  the  hills  of  Samaria. 

The  whole  of  Mount  Tabor,  according  to  Burck- 
hardt,  is  calcareous.  During  the  greater  part  of  the 
summer,  it  is  covered  in  the  morning  with  thick 
clouds,  which  disperse  towards  mid-day.  A  strong 
wind  blows  the  whole  of  the  day,  and  in  the  night 
dews  fall  more  copious  than  are  usually  known  in 
Syria.  This  traveller  found  on  the  summit,  in  1810, 
a  single  family  of  Greek  Christians,  refugees  from 
Ezra  in  the  Haouran,  who  had  retired  to  this  remote 
spot,  to  avoid  paying  taxes  to  the  government,  and 
expected  to  remain  unnoticed.  "  They  rented  the 
upper  plain,  at  the  rate  of  fifty  piastres  per  annum, 
from  the  Sheikh  of  Daboury,  to  which  village  the 
mountain  belongs.  The  harvest,  which  they  were 
now  gathering  in,  was  worth  about  1,200  piastres,  and 
they  had  had  the  good  fortune  not  to  be  disturbed  by 
any  tax-gatherers :  which  would  certainly  not  bo  the 
case  next  year,  should  they  remain  here."  The  Khan 


322  PALESTINE;  OK, 

of  Djebel  Tor  is  a  large  ruinous  building  at  no  great 
distance  from  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  inhabited  by 
&  few  families.  It  is  about  three  hours  and  a  quarter 
from  Tabaria;  and  a  large  fair  is  held  here  every 
Monday. 

About  an  hour's  distance  from  the  foot  of  Tabor, 
towards  the  north-west,  on  the  northern  side  of  the 
plain  of  Esdraelon,  is  the  village  of  Eksall,  (written 
by  Pococke,  Za/,)  supposed,  with  some  probability,  to 
be  the  ancient  Xaloth  mentioned  by  Josephus,  as  one 
of  the  boundaries  of  Lower  Galilee.  *  It  stands  on  one 
of  those  low  ridges  of  rock  which  are  seen  here  and 
there  throughout  the  plain,  and  near  it  are  many 
sepulchres  cut  in  the  rock :  "  some,"  says  Pococke. 
"  are  like  stone  coffins  above  ground,  others  are  cut 
into  the  rock  like  graves,  some  of  them  having  stone 
covers  over  them."  Mr.  Buckingham  noticed  a 
sarcophagus  of  rude  execution  and  unusually  large 
dimensions.  He  describes,  also,  some  subterranean 
vaults  here,  descended  to  by  circular  openings  like 
the  mouths  of  wells,  but  which  he  did  not  enter. 
"  The  most  marked  feature  of  the  place,  however, 
was,"  he  adds,  "  the  many  graves  cut  down  into 
the  rock,  exactly  in  the  way  in  which  our  modern 
graves  are  dug  in  the  earth.  These  were  covered 
with  rude  blocks  of  stone,  sufficiently  large  to  overlap 
the  edge  of  the  grave  on  all  sides,  and  of  a  height 


*  "  As  for  that  Galilee  which  is  called  the  Lower,  it  extends  in 
length  from  Tiberias  to  Zabulon,  and  of  the  maritime  places, 
Ptolemais  is  its  neighbour.  Its  breadth  is  from  the  village  called 
Xaloth,  which  lies  in  the  Great  Plain  as  far  as  Bersabe.  From 
which  beginning  also  is  taken  the  breadth  of  the  Upper  Galilee,  as 
far  as  the  village  Baca,  which  divides  the  land  of  the  Tyrians  from 
it :  its  length  is  also  from  Meloth  to  Thella,  a  village  near  to  Jor- 
dan."— Wars,  book  iii.  chap.  6. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  323 

or  thickness  equal  to  the  depth  of  the  grave  itself, 
varying  from  two  to  four  feet.  There  were  in  all, 
perhaps,  twenty  of  these  covered  sepulchres  still  per- 
fect ;  and  in  one,  whose  closing  block  had  been  so 
moved  aside  as  to  leave  an  opening  through  which 
the  interior  of  the  grave  could  be  seen,  a  human  skull 
remained  perfect." 

ROUTE  FROM  NAZARETH  TO  ACRE. 

THE  whole  tract  of  country  between  Nazareth  and 
the  coast  was  formerly  studded  with  towns  and  vil- 
lages. Josephus,  describing  the  two  Galilees,  says : 
44  Their  soil  is  universally  rich  and  fruitful,  and  full 
of  the  plantations  of  trees  of  all  sorts,  insomuch  that 
it  invites  the  most  slothful  to  take  pains  in  its  cul- 
tivation, by  its  fruitfulness.  Accordingly,  it  is  all 
cultivated  by  its  inhabitants,  and  no  part  of  it  lies 
idle.  Moreover,  the  cities  lie  here  very  thick ;  and  the 
very  many  villages  that  are  here,  are  every  where  so 
full  of  people  by  the  richness  of  their  soil,  that  the 
very  least  of  them  contained  above  fifteen  thousand 
inhabitants." 

About  tljree  hours  from  Nazareth,  in  the  route  to 
Acre,  is  the  site  of  the  ancient  Sepphoris,  described  by 
Josephus  as  the  largest  city  in  Galilee,  and  is  built  in 
a  place  by  nature  so  very  strong  as  to  command  the 
country.  The  road  lies  at  first  in  a  northerly  direc- 
tion, over  the  hills  which  encompass  the  vale  of  Naza- 
reth on  that  side ;  it  then  turns  to  the  westward, 
over  a  hilly  and  stony  tract,  full  of  hard  limestones, 
such  as  are  met  with  in  Judea ;  and  Hasselquist 
noticed  the  same  plants  here  as  in  the  country  about 
Jerusalem.*  But  at  Sepphoury  begins  what  Maun- 

*  In  particular,  kali  fntticosum.  And  Dr.  Clarke  discovered  a 
new  species  of  pink,  and  some  other  rare  plants. 


324  PALESTINE  ;    OR, 

drell  styles  "  .the  delicious  plain  of  Zabulon."  He 
was  an  hour  and  a  half  in  crossing  it,  which  would 
make  it,  on  the  usual  computation,  about  four  miles 
and  a  half  in  length.  Hasselquist,  however,  states  it 
to  be  above  three  miles  long  and  three  quarters  broad; 
while  Pococke  conjectures  it  to  be  ten  miles  long  and 
three  miles  broad.  Dr.  Clarke  says :  "  The  scenery  is 
to  the  full  as  delightful  as  in  the  rich  vales  upon  the 
south  of  the  Crimea :  it  reminded  us  of  the  finest 
parts  of  Kent  and  Surrey.  The  soil,,  though  stony, 
is  exceedingly  rich." 

Sapphura,  or  Sepphoris,  (the  ancient  Zippor,  OF 
Tsippor,)  at  one  time  honoured  with  the  name  of 
Diocaesarea,  affords  another  instance  of  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  more  ancient  appellation  in  that  by  which 
the  site  is  still  known  to  the  natives.  It  is  referred 
to  in  the  Talmud  as  the  seat  of  a  Jewish  university, 
and  was  famous  for  the  learning  of  its  rabbies.  Jose- 
phus  writes  it  Sepphoris.  In  the  Itinerary  of  R.  Ben- 
jamin, it  is  said  to  be  twenty  miles  from  Tiberias. 
The  miserable  village  which  now  occupies  the  site 
of  the  ancient  city,  is  called  Sephoury.  "  The  re- 
mains of  its  fortifications,"  says  Dr.  Clarke,  "  ex- 
hibited to  us  an  existing  work  of  Herod,  who,  after 
its  destruction  by  Varus,  not  only  rebuilt  and  fortified 
it,  but  made  it  the  chief  city  of  his  tetrarchy,"  —  an 
honour  which  before  was  enjoyed  by  Tiberias.  Here 
was  held  one  of  the  five  sanhedrims  or  judicatures 
of  Palestine,  the  others  being  at  Jerusalem,  Jericho, 
Gadara,  and  Amathus.  It  was  so  advantageously 
situated  for  defence,  that  it  was  deemed  impregnable ; 
and  its  inhabitants  often  revolted  against  the  Romans. 
But  when  Vespasian  was  sent  into  Syria  to  subdue 
the  Jews,  the  citizens  of  Sepphoris,  sensible  of  the 
power  of  the  Romans,  treated  with  Cestius  Galhis 


THE  HOLY    LAND.  325 

before  Vespasian  came,  and  received  a  Roman  garri- 
son. On  the  arrival  of  the  general,  a  deputation  met 
him  at  Ptolemais,  and  promised  to  assist  him  against 
their  countrymen;  and  Vespasian,  at  their  desire, 
left  with  them  as  many  horsemen  and  footmen  as 
he  thought  sufficient  to  oppose  the  incursions  of  the 
Jews,  if  they  should  come  against  them.*  Medals 
of  the  city  were  coined  afterwards  in  the  reigns  of 
Dotnitian  and  Trajan.  But  what  rendered  it  illus- 
trious in  later  ages,  was  its  being  considered  as  the 
native  place  of  Joachim  and  Anna,  the  parents  t>»"  the 
Virgin  Mary.  u  Upon  the  spot  where  the  house  of 
Jouchim  stood,  a  conspicuous  sanctuary,"  Quaresmius 
states,  "  built  with  square  stones,  was  afterwards 
erected.  It  had  two  rows  of  pillars,  by  which  the 
vault  of  the  triple  nave  was  supported.  At  the  upper 
end  were  three  chapels."  From  a  passage  in  Epi- 
phanius,  it  appears  that  its  construction  was  the  work 
of  one  Josephus,  a  native  of  Tiberias,  who  was  au- 
thorised by  Constantino  to  erect  this  and  other  similar 
edifices  in  the  Holy  Land.  He  built  the  churches  of 
Tiberias,  Diocsesarea,  and  Capernaum,  and  was  raised 
to  the  rank  of  count  by  the  emperor.  This  was  to- 
wards the  latter  end  of  the  life  of  Constantino,  so  that 
the  church  of  Sepphoris  must  have  been  erected  before 
the  middle  of  the  fourth  century.  In  the  following 
reign,  A.D.  339,  and  the  twenty-fifth  of  Constantius, 
in  consequence  of  a  seditious  insurrection  of  the  citi- 
zens, the  city  was  destroyed  by  the  Romans,  and  the 
church  appears  to  have  shared  in  the  general  desola- 
tion. In  the  time  of  the  Crusades,  the  fountain  of 
Sepphoury,  which  is  about  a  mile  to  the  south-east, 


*  Joseph.  Antiq.  bonk  xviii.  chap.  3 ;  xiv.  10.    Wars,  book  in. 
chap.  2. 

PART  II.  U 


326  PALESTINE;  OR, 

towards  Nazareth,  served  as  a  place  of  rendezvous  for 
the  armies  belonging  to  the  kings  of  Jerusalem,  and 
it  is  frequently  mentioned  by  William  of  Tyre.  But, 
as  no  notice  is  taken  by  any  of  the  monkish  writers 
of  the  church,  it  is  concluded  by  Dr.  Clarke,  that  it 
never  rose  from  its  ruins.  Doubdan,  who  passed 
through  Sepphoury  in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  has  merely  the  following  reference  to  it. 
"  The  town  is  now  a  heap  of  ruins,  and  upon  the 
summit  of  the  mountain,  which  is  not  high,  is  yet 
to  be  seen  the  remains  of  a  church  built  on  the  spot 
where  stood  the  house  of  Saint  Joachim  and  Saint 
Anna."  Dr.  Clarke,  from  whom  we  have  borrowed 
the  greater  part  of  these  particulars,  gives  the  follow- 
ing description  of  this  noble  ruin. 

"  We  were  conducted  to  ttie  ruins  of  a  stately 
Gothic  edifice,  which  seems  to  have  been  one  of  the 
finest  structures  in  the  Holy  Land.  Here  we  entered, 
beneath  lofty  massive  arches  of  stone.  The  roof  of 
the  building  was  of  the  same  materials.  The  arches 
are  placed  at  the  intersection  of  a  Greek  cross,  and 
originally  supported  a  dome  or  tower  :  their  appear- 
ance is  highly  picturesque,  and  they  exhibit  the 
grandeur  of  a  noble  style  of  architecture.  Broken 
columns  of  granite  and  marble  lie  scattered  among 
the  walls.  One  aisle  of  this  building  is  yet  entire. 
At  the  eastern  extremity,  a  small  temporary  altar  had 
been  recently  constructed  by  the  piety  of  pilgrims  :  it 
consisted  of  loose  materials,  and  was  of  very  modern 
date."  *  The  learned  traveller  had  the  good  fortune 
to  find  here,  and  obtain  possession  of,  three  ancient 
paintings,  exactly  resembling,  in  their  style,  those 
curious  specimens  of  the  art  which  are  found  in  the 

*  Travels/  6vo.  vol.  iv.  pp.  140,  141. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  327 

churches  of  Russia,  excepting  that,  instead  of  Greek, 
they  exhibited  Arabic  inscriptions.  They  had  been 
found  by  the  Arabs  in  moving  a  heap  of  rubbish  in 
part  of  the  church.  One,  which  is  painted  on  wood, 
is  supposed  to  represent  Christ  making  himself  known 
to  the  two  disciples  at  Emmaus.  The  second,  which 
is  the  most  ancient,  is  a  picture  of  the  Virgin  and 
infant  Jesus.  The  third  has  been  painted  upon  an 
Arabic  manuscript,  which  appears  to  be  the  leaf  of  an 
old  copy-book,  as  the  same  line  occurs  repeatedly  from 
the  top  to  the  bottom.  The  subject  of  the  painting 
is  the  Virgin  and  her  Son.  These  tablets  are  sup- 
posed  to  have  belonged  to  some  church  of  Malkite 
Greeks,  but  their  antiquity  cannot  be  precisely  deter- 
mined. Their  being  found  here  would  lead  one  to 
suppose,  that  the  ruined  church  had  at  some  period 
been  converted  into  a  chapel  by  Greek  Christians  ;  and 
probably  the  temporary  altar  was  erected  by  the  same 
parties  that  brought  the  pictures  here.  Their  pre- 
tensions to  be  considered  as  original  decorations  of  the 
church  are  very  equivocal. 

Perhaps,  a  sufficient  reason  may  be  found  for  the 
neglected  and  desolate  state  of  this  ancient  capital  of 
Galilee,  in  its  proximity  to  Nazareth,  which,  during 
the  short-lived  kingdom  of  Jerusalem,  became  the 
chief  city  of  the  district,  and  was  made  an  archiepis- 
copal  see,  having  under  it  the  bishoprick  of  Tiberias, 
and  the  priory  of  Mount  Tabor.  And  ever  since  that 
period,  Nazareth  has  been  held  in  the  highest  estima- 
tion, as,  next  to  the  Holy  City,  the  chief  resort  of 
Christian  pilgrims.  The  jealousy  of  the  monks  would 
lead  them  to  regard  with  no  friendly  eye  a  rival  esta- 
blishment in  their  immediate  neighbourhood ;  and 
thus,  Sepphoury  appears  to  have  been  abandoned  by 
the  orthodox  Latins  to  the  schismatical  Greeks.  Has- 


328  PALESTINE;  OR, 

selquist  states,  that  the  modern  village  was  inhabited 
by  Greeks.  Dr.  Clarke,  however,  says,  that  they  now 
consist  principally  of  Maronites,  with  a  few  Druses. 
Pococke  says  :  "  Here  the  Greeks  have  a  small  chapel, 
and  there  are  several  broken  stone  coffins  about  the 
village." 

The  castle,  "  once  the  acropolis  of  the  city,"  stands 
on  the  top  of  the  hill  nearly  half  a  mile  above  the 
village,  and  has  an  imposing  appearance.  There  is 
a  fine  tower  of  hewn  stone ;  but  neither  Pococke  nor 
Clarke  gives  any  description  of  it,  that  might  enable 
us  to  form  a  conjecture  as  to  its  probable  date.  An 
ancient  aqueduct  still  serves  to  supply  several  small 
mills. 

The  plain  of  Zabulon,  on  which  the  traveller  now 
enters,  Pococke  says,  is  called  Zaal-hatour.  He 
notices  a  well  at  the  foot  of  a  beautiful  hill  on  the 
left,  called  by  the  monks  the  well  of  Zabulon.  On 
the  hill  is  a  village  named  Bedoui.  Van  Egmont 
and  Heyman  notice  apparently  the  same  spring,  at 
the  foot  of  an  eminence  on  which  they  observed  a 
ruined  village  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  hill  of 
Sepphoury.  Directly  opposite  to  it,  they  saw,  "  at 
the  foot  of  a  mountain,  a  walled  village  called  Kaffer 
Mender,  defended  by  several  forts."  Beyond  this, 
the  road  taken  by  Pococke  leads  through  "  the  plea- 
sant narrow  vale  of  Abylene,  having  low  hills  on 
each  side  covered  with  trees,  chiefly  the  carob-tree 
and  a  sort  of  oak  with  whitish  leaves," — to  a  village 
of  the  same  name,  at  that  time  the  residence  of  a 
great  sheikh.  Two  miles  further  is  another  well,  at 
the  foot  of  a  hill,  on  which  is  a  village  called  Pere. 
Soon  after,  the  traveller  enters  upon  the  plain  of  Acre. 
To  the  north  of  Pere,  Pococke  was  informed  that 
there  was  a  village  called  Damora,  which  Van  Eg- 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  329 

mon't  and  Heyman  refer  to  as  the  residence  of  a 
sheikh,  who  had  at  the  time  the  whole  of  the  sur- 
rounding plain  under  his  jurisdiction,  with  several 
villages,  residing  himself  u  in  a  very  large  mansion- 
house."  To  the  south  of  this  is  a  village  which, 
about  three  months  hefore,  the  said  sheikh  had  as- 
saulted and  plundered,  the  inhabitants  not  having 
shewn  any  great  readiness  to  execute  an  order  he  had 
sent  them.  Its  name  they  write  Chafamora.  No 
place  occurs  in  Pococke's  route,  that  comes  nearer 
this  name  than  Swamor.  But  D'Anville  notices  a 
village,  the  name  of  which  he  writes  Shafa  Amre, 
which  Dr.  Clarke  supposes  to  be  the  Chafamore  of 
Van  Egmont :  he  himself  writes  it  Shefhamer  and 
Cheffambre.  But,  it  seems,  times  had  changed  ;  the 
aga  of  this  village  appears  to  have  then  been  the  chief 
of  the  district.  It  is  about  seven  miles  from  Sep- 
phoury,  and  *c  stands  upon  the  western  declivity  of 
a  ridge  of  eminences  rising  one  above  another  in  a 
continuous  series,  from  Libanus  to  Carmel."  We 
look  in  vain,  throughout  the  accounts  respectively 
given  by  these  learned  travellers,  for  any  name  that 
might  seem  to  indicate  the  site  of  the  ancient  strong 
city  of  Zabulon,  which,  Josephus  says,  was  called  the 
city  of  me^  and  divided  the  country  of  Ftolemais 
from  their  nation.  "  It  was  of  admirable  beauty, 
and  had  its  houses  built  like  those  in  Tyre,  and  Sidon, 
and  Berytus."  But  Cestius  plundered  and  set  fire 
to  it.  *  Maundrell's  account  of  his  route  from  Sep- 
phoury  to  Acre  is  unusually  meagre.  "  We  were  an 
hour  and  a  half,"  he  says,  "  in  crossing  the  plain  of 
Zabulon  ;  and,  in  an  hour  and  a  half  more,  passed 
by  a  desolate  village  on  the  right  hand,  by  namo 

'  Jose.  tons.  Wars,  book  ii.  tha^  xviii. 


330  PALESTINE;  OR, 

Satgra.  In  half  an  hour  more  we  entered  the  plains 
of  Acre,  and  in  one  hour  and  a  half  more  arrived 
at  that  place.  Our  stage  this  day  was  somewhat  less 
than  seven  hours  (from  Nazareth)  :  it  lay  about  west 
and  by  north,  and  through  a  country  very  delightful 
and  fertile  beyond  imagination."  This,  on  the  usual 
computation  of  three  miles  an  hour,  makes  the  dis- 
tance from  Nazareth  to  Acre  about  twenty  miles. 

ROUTE  FROM  TIBERIAS   TO  DAMASCUS. 

FROM  Acre,  there  is  a  route  along  the  coast  and 
across  the  mountains  to  Damascus ;  but,  though  the 
pashalic  of  Acre  extends  as  high  as  Djebail,  including 
the  mountains  inhabited  by  the  Druses,  this  part  of 
the  coast  was  never  considered  as  belonging  to  the 
kingdom  of  Israel  or  the  Holy  Land.  It  will,  there- 
fore, more  properly  fall  within  our  notice  in  the  de- 
scription of  Syria. 

There  is  a  route  from  Jerusalem  to  Damascus  on 
either  side  of  the  sea  of  Galilee.  From  Tiberias,  the 
most  direct  road  is  that  which  lies  through  the  ancient 
Saphet,  and  crosses  the  Jordan  at  Jacob's  bridge. 
This  route  has  been  already  described  as  far  as  Khan 
Mennye.  Pococke,  however,  seems  to  have  deviated 
further  from  the  line  of  the  lake.  Ascending  the  hill 
to  the  north  of  the  vale  of  Hottein,  he  descended  into 
the  valley  beyond,  and  came  to  the  place  which,  he 
says,  still  bears  the  name  of  Baitsida  ;  he  then,  by 
the  Pass  of  Doves  (Wady  Hymam),  entered  the  Vale 
of  Gennesareth.  "We  viewed,"  he  says,  "  Mag- 
dolum  (Medjdel)  on  the  lake,  and  then  went  to  the 
round  fountain,  where  we  reposed  awhile,  and  took 
some  refreshment ;  and  going  north,  passed  by  a 
spring  called  Moriel,  and  began  to  ascend  the  hills 


THE  HOLY   LAND.  331 

towards  Saphet,  which  I  take  to  be  the  eastern  end 
of  that  chain  of  hills  which  runs  from  the  sea,  north 
ward  of  the  plain  of  Acre.  There  are  several  summits, 
separated  from  one  another  by  small  valleys.  One  of 
the  first  of  these  is  called  Rubasy.  On  the  top  of  the 
northern  summit  we  passed  by  Aboutbesy :  in  the 
valley  beneath  it,  is  a  bridge,  called  Geser  Aboutbesy. 
Here  there  is  a  stream  which  runs  to  the  plain  that  is 
to  the  west  of  the  Lake  of  Tiberias." 

It  is  difficult  to  make  any  thing  of  these  names, 
which  appear  to  be  modern  ;  but  the  stream  is  pro- 
bably that  which  Burckhardt  notices  under  the  name 
of  El  Eshe,  as  emptying  itself  into  the  lake  near  Ain 
Tabegha.  It  was  nearly  opposite  to  this  spring  that 
he  descended  to  the  coast  from  Khan  Djob  Yousef,  the 
Khan  of  Joseph's  Well,  which  he  makes  two  hours 
and  a  quarter  from  Saphet,  and  one  hour  and  a  half 
from  the  borders  of  the  lake.  In  the  time  of  Van 
Egmont  and  Hevman,  this  khan  was  called  the  Khan 
of  Cuperli,  "  from  its  being  built,  together  with  seve- 
ral other  structures  of  the  same  kind  in  Turkey,  by 
a  grand-vizier  of  that  name."  They  make  it  less 
than  an  hour  from  the  point  at  which  they  began  to 
ascend  the  mountains  by  a  very  troublesome  road,  and 
describe  it  as  "  an  excellent  baiting-place  both  for 
man  and  beast."  "  The  khan  has  on  the  outside  the 
appearance  of  a  castle.  You  enter  through  a  large 
gate  into  a  spacious  area,  round  which  are  arched 
piazzas  serving  for  stables,  and  over  them  apartments 
with  terraces :  near  it  is  a  mosque  with  a  minaret, 
and  a  large  cistern,  generally  full  of  rain-water ;  but, 
at  the  time  we  visited  the  khan,  it  was  dry.  On  the 
left  side  of  this  khan  is  also  a  small  mosque,  and  a 
pit  covered  with  a  cupola.  The  Turks  will  hnve  this 
to  be  the  pit  into  which  Joseph  was  thrown,  before 


332  PALESTINE  ;    OR, 

his  brethren  sold  him  to  the  Ishmaelites  ;  but  it  is  at 
present  no  more  than  six  spans  in  depth.  Besides, 
the  Scripture  represents  the  "pit  into  which  Joseph 
was  cast,  as  dry,  whereas  this  contained  very  clear  and 
good  water." 

At  the  time  of  Burckhardt's  visit,  the  khan  was 
falling  rapidly  into  ruin.  It  was  then  inhabited  by 
a  dozen  Moggrebin  soldiers  with  their  families,  who 
cultivate  the  fields  near  it.  "  Joseph's  Well"  is, 
he  says,  held  in  veneration  by  Turks  as  well  as 
Christians :  the  former  have  a  small  chapel  just  by 
it,  and  caravan  travellers  seldom  pass  here  without 
saying  a  few  prayers  in  honour  of  Vousef.  He  de- 
scribes it  as  about  three  feet  in  diameter,  and  at  least 
thirty  feet  in  depth;  which  so  ill  accords  with  the 
statement  given  by  Van  Egmont,  that  it  is  hard  to 
imagine  that  they  were  shewn  the  same  well.  But 
it  matters  little :  any  well  would  equally  answer  the 
purpose  of  the  legend.  Burckhardt  avows  his  scepti- 
cism on  the  point.  "  I  was  told,w  he  says,  "  that 
the  bottom  is  hewn  in  the  rock  :  its  sides  were  well 
lined  with  masonry  as  far  as  I  could  see  into  it,  and 
the  water  never  dries  up ;  a  circumstance  which 
makes  it  difficult  to  believe  that  this  was  the  well 
into  which  Joseph  was  thrown."  That  which  was 
shewn  to  Pococke  as  Djob  Yousefc  he  describes  %s 
"  a  cistern  under  ground."  The  whole  of  the  moun- 
tain in  the  vicinity  is  covered  with  large  pieces  of 
black  stone ;  but  the  main  body  of  the  rock  is  cal- 
careous. "  The  country  people  relate,  that  the  tears 
of  Jacob,  dropping  upon  the  ground  while  he  was  in 
search  of  his  son,  turned  the  white  stones  black,  and 
they  in  consequence  call  these  stones  Jacob's  tears.'''' 

There  is  no  good  reason  to  suppose  that  Dothan, 
whither  Joseph  came  in  search  of  his  brethren,  \vas 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  333 

so  far  north  of  Shechem  as  this  part  of  Galilee.  "  It 
is  a  long  way  from  Hebron,"  Dr.  Richardson  justly 
remarks,  "  for  t'le  sons  of  Jacob  to  go  to  feed  their 
herds,  and  a  still  further  way  for  a  solitary  youth  like 
Joseph  to  be  sent  by  his  father  in  quest  of  them. 
This  pit  is  nearly  the  same  distance  from  Shechem, 
that  Shechem  is  from  Hebron  ;  namely,  about  two 
days  and  a  half,  or  three  days'  journey."  The  pit 
in  question,  the  learned  traveller  believes,  derives  its 
name  from  a  chief  of  Saracenic  celebrity.  Thus,  there 
is  a  "  Joseph's  Hall "  at  Cairo,  which  has  been  igno- 
rantly  supposed  to  owe  its  name  to  the  patriarch, 
although,  in  fact,  the  work  of  a  Mameluke  chieftain. 
Dr.  Pococke  accounts  for  the  blunder  respecting  Djob 
Yousef,  by  supposing  it  to  have  originated  in  the 
mistaken  notion  that  Saphet  is  the  ancient  Bethulia. 
The  latter  he  considers  to  be  no  other  place,  in  fact, 
than  BetheL  The  real  Dothan,  he  remarks,  "  could 
not  be  a  great  way  from  Bethulia,  because  Holofernes's 
army  extended  from  Bethulia  to  Dothan  ;  and  though 
this  place  might  anciently  have  been  called  Dothan,  as 
it  is  at  present  by  the  Jews,  yet  its  great  distance 
from  Shechem  makes  it  unlikely  to  be  the  place  where 
Joseph  went  to  his  brethren,  as  it  is  the  distance  of 
two  or  three  ordinary  days'  journey,  and  could  not  be 
performed  in  less  than  five  or  six  days  with  the  cattle 
which  they  were  charged  to  feed."  The  district  is 
called  by  the  natives  Koua-el-Kerd,  and,  a  little  lower 
down,  Redjel-el-Kaa,  neither  of  which  names  presents 
any  affinity  to  Dothan.  The  whole  legend  may, 
therefore,  be  safely  dismissed  as  another  of  those  igno- 
rant fictions  which  have  perplexed  the  geography  of 
the  Holy  Land.* 

•  Dr.  Richardson  arrived  at  Djob  Yousef  (Gib  Yousouff,  Job 

Joseph?)  from  Nazareth-    About  four  hours  after  turning  out  of 

u2 


334  PALESTINE  ;    OR, 

Saphet,  by  Burckhardt  written  Szaffad,  has  already 
been  referred  to  as  one  of  the  four  holy  cities  of  the 
Talmud.  Its  situation  is  very  high,  and  commands 
the  whole  country  round.  It  is  described  by  Burck- 
hardt as  a  neatly-built  town,  standing  upon  several 
low  hills,  which  divide  it  into  different  quarters :  of 
these,  the  largest  is  inhabited  exclusively  by  Jews, 
who  esteem  Szaffad  a  sacred  place.  "  The  whole  may 
contain  600  houses,  of  which  150  belong  to  the  Jews, 
and  from  80  to  100  to  the  Christians.  The  town  is 
governed  by  a  Mutsellim,  whose  district  comprises 
about  a  dozen  villages.  The  garrison  consists  of 
Moggrebins,  the  greater  part  of  whom  have  married 
here,  and  cultivate  a  part  of  the  neighbouring  lands. 
The  town  is  surrounded  with  olive-plantations  and 
vineyards,  but  the  principal  occupations  of  the  in- 
habitants are  indigo-dyeing  and  the  manufacture  of 
cotton  cloth.  On  every  Friday  a  market  is  held, 
to  which  all  the  peasants  of  the  neighbourhood  re- 
sort." 

The  summit  of  the  hill,  round  the  foot  of  which 
Szaffad  may  be  said  to  lie,  is  crowned  with  an  ancient 
castle,  part  of  which,  Pococke  says,  the  Jews  think 
to  be  as  old  as  the  time  of  their  prosperity.  When 
he  visited  it,  there  were  only  great  ruins :  he  notices 
1/articularly  "  two  fine,  large,  round  towers  that  be- 
longed to  it."  The  Christians  had  possession  of  the 

the  road  to  Tiberias,  he  came  to  a  large  village  on  the  side  of  a 
hill,  called  Megdra,  and  a  little  further  on,  another  village  called 
Mensura,  In  Pococke's  route  to  Saphet,  occur  the  names  of  Akeby, 
near  which  are  grottoes  cut  in  several  parts  of  the  perpendicular 
rocks;  Cesy;  Adborow ;  and  Wady  Lalcab.  Also,  a  little  to  the 
north  of  Djob  Yousef,  a  place  called  Renety.  Future  travellers 
may  throw  light  on  these  names,  which  are  apparently  allied  to 
nothing  ancient  or  intelligible. 


THE   HOLY  LAND.  335 

fortress  in  the  time  of  the  Crusades ;  and  "  I  saw," 
he  adds,  u  on  a  building  in  the  town,  a  relief  of  the 
arms  of  the  knights  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  :  it  was 
surrendered  by  them  to  Saladin,  sultan  of  Egypt.* 
The  town  is  a  little  lower  down,  on  three  sides  of  the 
hill  on  which  the  castle  stands  :  it  is  a  considerable 
town,  having  been  formerly  the  place  of  residence  of 
the  pasha  of  this  country,  on  which  account  it  was 
called  the  pashalic  of  Saphet ;  and  the  whole  territory 
now  goes  by  the  name  of  the  country  of  Saphet,  but 
the  pasha  resides  at  Sidon,  and  a  cadi  from  Constanti- 


*  Brocardus  mentions  Saphet  in  the  following  words:  '«  Sa- 
phet, or  Sephet,  is  a  city  or  castle,  formerly  belonging  to  the 
knights- templars.  The  castle  is  handsome,  very  strong,  and  situ- 
ated on  a  mountain  of  extraordinary  height,  but  was  taken  by  the 
Soldan,  and,  to  the  great  detriment  of  the  Christians,  still  con- 
tinues in  his  possession,  as  he  by  this  means  keeps  in  subjection 
all  Galilee;  that  is,  the  tribes  of  Zebulon,  Naphthali,  Asher, 
Issachar,  Manasseh,  and  the  whole  country  as  far  as  Tyre  and 
Sidon."  Another  writer  of  the  middle  ages  states,  that  Cora- 
dine,  prince  of  Damascus,  built  at  Saphet  a  very  strong  castle, 
which  Saladin,  the  scourge  of  the  Christians,  reduced  by  a  long 
siege  to  such  extremities,  that  the  besieged,  pressed  by  famine, 
and  having  obtained  leave  of  the  grand-master  of  the  knights- 
templars,  surrendered  to  that  tyrant.  In  the  year  1239,  Benedict, 
bishop  of  Marseilles,  having  made  a  voyage  to  the  Holy  Land, 
encouraged  the  templars  to  rebuild  the  castle  of  Saphet:  he  is 
said  to  have  laid  the  first  stone  himself,  and  to  have  animated 
the  workmen  by  a  spirited  oration.  He  then  returned  to  his 
native  land,  and  at  his  death  bequeathed  to  this  castle,  "  as  to 
his  beloved  son,"  his  whole  fortune  and  his  blessing.  In  1266, 
this  castle  again  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Infidels,  through  the 
treachery  of  its  commander,  one  Leo,  a  Syrian  knight,  who  had 
embraced  the  Mahommedan  religion.  The  whole  garrison,  to- 
gether with  the  inhabitants,  amounting  to  three  thousand,  are 
said  to  have  been  forn  ally  beheaded  by  the  Infidels,  in  violation 
of  their  promise,  given  upon  oath,  that  they  should  enjoy  their 
lives  and  liberties.  See  Van  Egmont  and  Heyman's  Travels, 
vol.  ii.  p.  43. 


336  PALESTINE;  OR, 

nople  lives -here.*  There  are  many  Jews  iu  this 
place,  it  being  a  sort  of  university  for  the  education 
of  their  rabbies,  of  whom  there  are  about  twenty  or 
thirty  here,  and  some  of  them  come  as  far  as  from 
Poland.  They  have  no  less  than  seven  synagogues. 
Several  doctors  of  their  law,  who  lived  in  the  time 
of  the  second  Temple,  are  said  to  be  buried  here, 
three  of  whom  lie  in  a  place  which  is  now  turned 
into  a  mosque ;  and  the  Turks  say,  they  are  three  of 
the  sons  of  Jacob.  The  Jews  have  a  notion,  that  the 
Messiah  will  reign  here  forty  years  before  he  will 
take  up  his  residence  in  Jerusalem.  To  the  north  of 
the  hill  on  which  the  castle  stands,  there  are  several 
wells,  which,  they  say,  Isaac  dug,  and  about  which 
there  were  such  contentions  between  the  herdsmen 
of  Isaac  and  Gerar ;  but  they  have  much  mistaken 
the  place,  the  Valley  of  Gerar,  in  which  they  were 
dug,  being  at  a  great  distance  on  the  other  side  of 
Jerusalem." 

Thus  far  Pococke.  Turks,  Jews,  and  Chrisiians 
seem,  in  this  land  of  legends,  to  rival  each  other  in 
ignorant  credulity.  Van  Egmont  and  Heyman  de- 
scribe "  a  cave  at  Saphet,  held  in  great  veneration 
by  the  Turks,  who  call  it  Jacob's  Cave,  pretending 
that  the  patriarch  and  his  family  lived  there  when  he 
received  the  account  of  his  son  Joseph's  death ;  which, 
according  to  them,  he  lamented  with  such  floods  of 
tears  as  to  wash  holes  in  the  rocks.  No  Jew  is  suf- 
fered to  approach  this  sacred  cave ;  and  it  is  with 
great  difficulty  that  Christians,  here  called  Nazareens, 
can  obtain  this  favour.  It  is  situated  in  a  small  hill 
or  eminence  within  the  town  itself,  and  to  which  you 

*  T^iis  was  in  1737.    The  pashalic  of  Sidon  and  that  of  Acre  Arc 
the  same,  and  Saphet  is  included  in  it. 


THE  HOLY   LAND.  337 

ascend  by  steps  terminating  in  a  small  garden  planted 
with  trees,  under  whose  shadow  is  a  Turkish  oratory. 
Here  are  also  several  sepulchres  ;  and,  in  the  front  of 
the  oratory,  is  a  cave  hewn  out  of  the  rock,  containing 
eleven  or  twelve  grottoes,  situated  in  two  rows  over 
each  other,  and  in  which,  as  they  pretend,  Jacob  and 
his  family  lived.  But  that  belonging  to  Jacob  him. 
self,  is  as  large  again  as  any  of  the  others.  We  also 
saw  here  a  large  tomb,  covered  with  silks  of  several 
colours,  and  containing,  according  to  the  Turks,  the 
body  of  Judah.  The  whole  is  inclosed  with  a  wall, 
and  near  it,  in  a  small  house,  lives  a  Turkish  san- 
ton." 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  these  grottoes  are 
sepulchral,  and  that  they  are  of  high  antiquity,  al- 
though it  is  impossible  now  to  ascertain  who  were 

the   original   tenants   or   proprietors "   The   next 

place,"  continue  the  same  travellers,  "  that  engaged 
our  attention,  was  the  citadel,  which  is  the  greatest 
object  of  curiosity  in  Saphet,  and  generally  considered 
as  one  of  the  most  ancient  structures  remaining  in 
this  country  ;  though,  at  present,  it  is  in  so  ruinous 
a  condition,  that  its  ancient  figure  can  scarcely  be 
determined.  It  stands  on  the  summit  of  a  mountain 
round  which  the  city  is  built,  and  was  formerly  a 
very  strong  fortification  ;  as  sufficiently  appears  from 
the  multitude  of  ruins  and  the  largeness  of  its  circuit, 
which  extends  near  a  mile  and  a  half.  In  order  to 
form  some  idea  of  this  fortification  in  its  present 
state,  imagine  a  lofty  mountain,  and  on  its  summit 
a  round  castle  with  walls  of  an  incredible  thickness, 
with  a  corridor  or  covered  passage  extending  round 
the  walls,  and  ascended  by  a  winding  staircase.  The 
thickness  of  the  wall  and  the  corridor  together  was 
twenty  paces.  The  whole  was  of  hewn  stone,  and  some 


338  PALESTINE;  OR, 

of  the  stones  are  eight  or  nine  spans  in  length.  The 
inner  part  of  the  castle  was  in  some  measure  entire, 
and  consisted  of  an  hexagonical  room,  the  terrace 
roof  of  which  is  supported  by  six  arches,  and  lighted 
from  an  opening  in  the  roof.  Near  this  castle  we 
also  saw  the  ruins  of  several  cisterns  and  other  build- 
ings,  but  now  hardly  distinguishable.  This  castle 
was  anciently  surrounded  with  stupendous  works,  as 
appears  from  the  remains  of  two  moats  lined  with 
free-stone,  several  fragments  of  walls,  bulwarks, 
towers,  &c.,  all  very  solid  and  strongly  built,  and 
below  these  moats,  other  massive  works  having  corri- 
dors round  them  in  the  same  manner  as  the  castle : 
so  that  any  person,  on  surveying  these  fortifications, 
may  wonder  how  so  strong  a  fortress  could  ever  be 
taken.  Tradition  tells  us,  that  the  castle  of  Saphet 
was  taken  by  stratagem,  a  number  of  camels  being 
sent,  as  the  besieged  imagined,  with  provision,  but 
which  \\  ere  in  reality  loaded  with  soldiers. 

"  But  what  best  merits  the  greatest  attention  of 
the  traveller,  is  a  large  structure  of  free-stone  in  the 
form  of  a  cupola  or  dome.  The  stones,  which  are 
almost  white,  are  of  astonishing  magnitude,  some 
being  twelve  spans  in  length,  and  five  in  thickness. 
The  inside  is  full  of  niches  for  placing  statues,  and 
near  each  is  a  small  cell.  An  open  colonnade  extends 
quite  round  the  building,  and,  like  the  rest  of  the 
structure,  is  very  massive  and  compact.  We  ascended 
to  the  top  of  the  dome,  and  there  found  some  traces 
of  another  building  which  had  been  erected  on  it. 
From  here  we  had  the  finest  prospect  that  can  be 
imagined,  extending  over  the  city  of  Saphet  and  the 
circumjacent  places,  which  are  very  numerous,  all 
the  sides  of  the  mountains  being  full  of  villages  and 
hamlets,  supposed  once  to  have  made  a  part  of  the 


THE  HOLY   LAND.  339 

sity  of  Saphet,  which  is  at  present  almost  in  ruins 
and  every  where  without  walls.  But  what  greatly 
increases  the  beauty  of  the  prospect,  is,  that  the 
adjacent  country  is  every  where  well  cultivated. 
Towards  the  south  is  a  most  enchanting  prospect  over 
the  Lake  of  Tiberias.  We  even  imagined  we  could 
here  see  the  extremity  of  it,  and  distinguish  the  place 
where  the  Jordan  issues  from  it ;  we  had  also  a 
sight  of  Mount  Tabor,  the  mountains  of  Carmel  and 
Lebanon,  together  with  the  large  plain  of  Esdraelon, 
the  prospect  being  terminated  with  the  mountains 
which  bound  that  plain.  But,  if  the  prospect  over 
the  Lake  of  Tiberias  be  pleasant,  it  is  also  very 
illusive  :  the  water  appears  not  to  be  a  mile  distant ; 
but  a  traveller  will  find  it  difficult  to  reach  the  banks 
in  four  hours.  There  is  the  same  deceptio  visus  with 
regard  to  the  village  called  Hattin  (Hottein),  situated 
between  Saphet  and  Mount  Tabor,  and  where  is 
shewn  with  great  confidence  the  grave  of  Moses's 
father-in-law.  It  appears  to  be  hardly  a  stone's  cast, 
and  yet  the  real  distance  is  three  long  hours. 

u  In  our  descent  from  the  castle,  we  saw  ruins  in 
almost  every  place,  and  the  vestiges  of  the  labour  of 
some  who  had  been  seeking  for  treasures.  We  also 
saAv  that  this  part  of  the  mountain  was  covered  with 
vineyards,  producing  a  very  beautiful,  delicious  grape  ; 
and  accordingly,  the  wine  of  Saphet  is  good,  but 
would  be  excellent,  did  the  Jews,  who  are  the  makers 
of  it,  understand  their  business.  The  air  of  Saphet, 
from  its  high  situation,  is  very  pure  and  healthy, 
and  at  the  same  time  so  fresh  and  cool,  that  the 
heats,  which,  during  the  summer,  are  very  great  in 
the  adjacent  country,  are  here  hardly  felt,  a  gentle 
breeze  continually  refreshing  the  air.  And  this  was 
the  reason  why  anciently  the  royal  children  were 


340  PALESTINE;  OR, 

often  sent  from  Damascus  hither,  especially  in  sum- 
mer, or  when  indisposed.  The  fruits  also  are  remark- 
ably good,  especially  the  grapes  and  figs.  Here  are 
also  great  numbers  of  lemon-trees ;  for,  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountains  are  several  fertile  valleys  laid  out 
into  gardens ;  and  the  whole  country  is  naturally 
fertile,  and  abounds  with  springs.  Here  is  also  a 
large  aqueduct,  which  conveys  the  rain  water  from 
one  place  to  another." 

Saphet  had,  at  that  period,  no  Christian  families, 
which  is  mentioned  by  these  travellers  as  remarkable. 
There  were  a  few  Moors,  but  of  Jews  great  numbers  j 
and  they  were  assured  that,  about  a  century  before, 
the  number  of  Jews  settled  here  was  not  less  than 
12,000.  The  town  was  now  no  more  than  a  village 
in  the  midst  of  ruins.  "  Were  it  not,"  they  say, 
44  for  the  passionate  desire  of  the  Jews  for  ending 
their  days  here,  it  would  long  since  have  been  utterly- 
forsaken.  For  it  has  been  so  often  taken  and  retaken 
by  Christians  and  Mahommedans,  that  it  now  appears 
only  as  one  confused  heap,  having  nothing  venerable 
in  it,  except  its  name,  situation,  and  a  few  ruined 
structures.  The  Jews  are  indeed  possessed  with  an 
irresistible  desire,  or  rather  frenzy,  for  dying  in  this 
place,  relinquishing  every  thing  for  this.  They  ex- 
press a  high  veneration  for  Jerusalem  and  Hebron, 
but  not  to  be  compared  with  this  ;  which  they  found 
on  the  following  reasons.  First :  a  great  number  of 
their  most  celebrated  rabbins  and  other  holy  men 
have  died,  and  lie  buried  here,  whose  sepulchres  they 
visit  with  the  greatest  devotion ;  particularly  those 
of  the  rabbins,  Simon  Ben  Juchan,  author  of  the 
Zohar ;  Hillel,  writer  of  the  Thana  on  the  Gamara ; 
Samai  Hagadol ;  and  Jehuda  Bar  Elei,  who  also 
wrote  on  the  Gamara.  Secondly  :  they  are  persuaded 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  341 

by  their  rabbins,  that  the  Messiah,  who  is  to  l>e  born 
in  Galilee,  will  make  Saphet  the  capital  of  his  new 
kingdom  to  be  erected  here  on  earth,  and  that  those 
who  shall  dwell  there  in  those  glorious  times,  may 
expect  very  singular  favours  from  him.  In  short, 
the  heads  of  their  rabbins  are  filled  with  such  a  heap 
of  reveries  and  fantastical  visions,  that  the  poor  Jews, 
who  adopt  the  notions  of  their  teachers,  seem  to  have 
abandoned  all  reason.  They  still  expect  the  Messiah, 
though  it  is  now  above  seventeen  hundred  years  since 
they  crucified  him,  and  all  the  prophecies  relating  to 
him  have  been  accomplished.  And  this  is  the  reason 
that  they  are  always  at  a  loss  for  an  answer,  when 
closely  pressed,  with  regard  to  these  prophecies ;  so 
that  their  devotions  are  mere  superstition,  prompting 
them  to  prefer  this  place  to  another,  though  they 
live  in  the  greatest  misery,  merely  to  leave  their 
remains  in  Saphet.  The  Turks  are  not  backward  to 
take  advantage  of  this  superstitious  notion  of  the 
Jews ;  for,  first,  they  make  them  dearly  purchase 
the  favour  of  living  at  Saphet,  and,  by  a  variety,  of 
oppressions,  fines,  and  the  like  unjust  practices, 
squeeze  them  to  such  a  degree,  that  they  may  be  said 
to  pay  for  the  very  air  they  breathe.  And  if  any, 
through  extreme  poverty,  are  obliged  to  retire,  the 
pasha  is  no  loser,  as  his  quota  must  be  made  up  by 
the  others.  It  is  sometimes  pretended  that  he  carried 
considerable  treasures  away  with  him  :  and  the  pasha 
immediately  demands,  in  the  name  of  the  Grand 
Signior,  that  the  treasures  be  delivered  up  ;  he  settles 
the  sum  at  his  pleasure,  and  forces  these  miserable 
people  to  pay  it,  who  here  lead  the  poorest  and  most 
deplorable  life  that  can  be  conceived.  Their  only 
consolation  is,  their  having  synagogues,  of  whii-h, 
when  we  visited  Saphet,  there  were  seven,  though 


342  PALESTINE  ;    OE, 

formerly  they  amounted  to  thirty  or  more ;  and  that 
they  are  at  liberty  to  pray  in  them,  and  attend  to 
the  visionary  harangues  of  their  rabbins.  They, 
however,  send  from  Saphet  some  of  their  rabbins  of 
the  greatest  learning  and  integrity,  to  Constantinople, 
Smyrna,  and  other  trading  cities  of  the  Ottoman 
empire  where  wealthy  Jews  reside  ;  and  some  of  them 
even  visit  Germany,  Holland,  England,  and  other 
places  not  subject  to  the  Inquisition  ;  collecting  by 
this  means  considerable  sums,  to  be  distributed  among 
the  Jews  at  Jerusalem,  Hebron,  and  Saphet,  though 
the  greatest  share  always  falls  to  the  latter.*  They 
have  still  here  a  printing-house  and  a  kind  of  Univer- 
sity, where  the  Jewish  youths  are  instructed  in  their 
learning,  which  consists  wholly  in  the  Hebrew  lan- 
guage and  understanding  the  Talmud.  The  Jews 
here  are  descended  from  the  tribe  of  Judah,  but  their 
ancestors  are  natives  of  Spain,  and  accordingly,  they 
all  speak  the  Spanish  language  perfectly  well." 

To  the  above-mentioned  reasons  for  venerating  this 
favoured  site,  the  inhabitants  are  stated  to  add  another, 
which,  if  it  rested  on  any  authentic  tradition,  would 
sufficiently  explain,  without  the  help  of  Jacob's  cave 
or  any  other  legend,  the  ancient  fame  and  sanctity 
attaching  to  it.  They  pretend  that  it  was  the  birth- 
place of  Queen  Esther.  It  makes  somewhat  against 
this  claim,  however,  that  the  daughter  of  Abihail  was 
of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  and  probably  born  within 
the  kingdom  of  Judah,  as  her  uncle  was  among  those 
who  had  been  carried  away  captive  by  the  King  of 
Babylon  from  Jerusalem.  The  Jews  of  Saphet  stated, 

*  Tiberias  is  not  mentioned :  and,  at  this  period,  few  Jews  t  ?- 
sided  there.  The  account  in  other  respects  exactly  agrees  with  the 
statement  of  Burckhardt,  given  in  the  description  of  Tabaria,  and 
serves  to  corroborate  its  truth. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  343 

that  this  is  the  town  called  in  the  book  of  Joshua, 
Oricah.  No  mention  is  made  of  Saphet  in  the  English 
Bible ;  but,  in  the  apocryphal  book  of  Tobit,  accord- 
ing to  the  Vulgate,  Tobias  is  said  to  be  "  of  the  tribe 
and  city  of  Naphthali,  in  the  upper  parts  of  Galilee, 
beyond  the  road  that  leads  to  the  west,  having  on  the 
left  the  city  of  Saphet."  (Tobit  i.  1.)  The  city  of 
Naphthali  was  a  mile  to  the  south  of  it.  Since  then, 
its  name  appears  only  in  the  annals  of  the  Crusades. 
It  was  doomed,  however,  to  suffer  severely  from  the 
French  invasion.  In  1799,  the  French  had  occupied 
Szaffad  with  a  garrison  of  four  hundred  men,  their 
outposts  being  advanced  as  far  as  the  bridge  of  Beni 
Yacoub.  After  their  retreat  from  Akka  (Acre), 
the  Turks  wreaked  their  vengeance  on  the  Jews, 
whose  quarter  of  the  town  they  completely  sacked. 
The  castle,  Burckhardt  says,  appears  to  have  under- 
gone a  thorough  repair  in  the  course  of  the  last  cen- 
tury. There  is  also,  he  says,  another  but  smaller 
castle,  of  modern  date,  with  half-mined  walls,  at  the 
foot  of  the  hill.  Captain  Mangles  was  struck  with 
the  extreme  beauty  of  the  situation.  The  approach 
from  the  north,  he  describes  as  very  fine :  the  country 
abounds  in  olives,  vines,  and  almond-trees,  which 
were  then  (May  26)  in  blossom.  He  represents  the 
castle  as  occupying  a  small  hill  standing  by  itself,  and 
the  town  as  appearing  to  consist  of  four  distinct  vil- 
lages at  the  foot  of  it.  It  must  have  increased  con. 
siderably  in.  extent,  if  this  be  correct,  since  the  middle 
of  the  last  century.*  It  is  only  within  that  period 

*  Volney  attributes  the  decline  of  Saphet  to  the  earthquake  of 
759.  "  The  Jews,"  he  says,  "  who  believe  that  the  Messiah  will 
establish  the  scat  of  his  empire  at  Sajbd,  had  formed  an  affection 
for  this  place,  and  had  assembled  here  to  the  number  of  fifty  or  sixty 


344  PALESTINE;  on, 

that  it  has  received  a  proportion  of  Christians.  The 
Jews  do  not  seem  to  have  become  much  more  nume- 
rous, owing,  perhaps,  to  the  extreme  intolerance  of 
the  Turks,  added  to  the  superior  advantages  and  equal 
sanctity  of  Tabaria. 

From  Szaffad,  the  road  ascends,  passing  over  the 
summit  of  Djebel  Szaffad,  which  Burckhardt  states 
to  be  a  southern  branch  of  the  Djebel  el  Sheikh  or 
Antilibanus.  This  chain  begins  on  the  N.W.  side  of 
Lake  Houle.  The  whole  is  calcareous,  with  very 
little  basalt  or  tufwacke.  After  passing  the  highest 
point  the  road  descends  through  a  narrow  valley 
called  Akabet  Feraein,  and  passes  by  the  spring  of 
Fei  acin.  On  the  right,  the  traveller  passes  the  village 
Feraab.  At  the  foot  of  the  mountain  is  a  plain  called 
Ard  Aaseifera,  a  small  part  of  which  is  cultivated  by 
the  inhabitants  of  Szaffad  ;  there  are  several  springs 
in  it.  From  this  plain  the  road  descends  the  western 
banks  of  the  valley  of  the  Jordan,  to  Djissr  (or  Djeser) 
Beni  Yakoub,  which  Burckhardt  makes  two  hours  and 
three  quarters  from  the  summit  of  Djebel  Szaffad.  This 
bridge  connects  the  pashalics  of  Damascus  and  Acre ; 
and  here  the  Pasha  of  Damascus  keeps  a  few  men, 
chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  the  ghaffer,  or  toll, 
paid  by  all  Christians  who  cross  it.  The  ordinary 
toll  is  about  nine-pence  a  head,  but  the  pilgrims  who 

fam'.lies.  But  the  earthquake  of  1759  destroyed  all ;  and  Safad, 
looked  upon  by  the  Turks  with  a  jealous  eye,  (regards  de  mauvai» 
mil)  is  now  but  a  village  almost  deserted."  It  was  the  cradle  of  the 
power  of  the  celebrated  Sheikh  Daher,  mentioned  at  p.  271,  of 
whom  the  French  traveller  has  given  so  interesting  an  account. 
7rom  1750  to  1776,  he  commanded  the  greater  part  of  the  pashalic 
of  Acre,  assuming  the  title  of  "  Sheikh  of  Acre,  prince  of  princes, 
commander  ot  Nazareth,  Tiberias,  and  Saphet,  and  sheikh  of  all 
Galilee "  Diezzar  Pasha  succeeded  him  as  Pasha  of  Acre. 


THE  HOLT  LAND.  345 

pass  here  on  their  way  to  Jerusalem,  before  Easter, 
pay  seven  shillings.  The  river  is  here  about  thirty, 
five  paces  in  width.  On  the  west  side  is  a  guard- 
house belonging  to  the  Pasha  of  Acre.  On  the  other 
side  is  a  khan  much  frequented  by  travellers,  which 
was  almost  entirely  demolished  when  the  French 
invaded  Syria.  It  encloses  a  spring,  and  in  the  middle 
of  it  are  ruins  of  an  ancient  square  building,  con- 
structed  (Burckhardt  says)  of  basalt,  with  which  the 
mountains  abound,  and  having  columns  in  its  four 
angles.  This  may  possibly  be  the  remains  of  a  fortress 
built  near  this  spot  by  Baldwin,  fourth  king  of  Jeru- 
salem. The  bridge  itself  is  of  a  solid  construction, 
with  four  arches.*  Its  name  is  of  course  said  to  com- 
memorate the  passage  of  the  patriarch  Jacob,  on  his 
return  from  Padan-Aram.  The  legend  does  not,  in- 
deed, as  might  be  expected,  attribute  the  construction 
of  it  to  his  architectural  skill.  If  the  name,  however, 
be  correctly  given,  it  signifies  "  the  bridge  of  the  sons 
of  Jacob ;"  referring,  probably,  to  some  Arab  tribe 
who  occupied  this  district.  Thus,  there  are  the  tribes 
of  Beni  Szakher,  Btni  Obeid,  Beni  Djohma,  &c.  A 
short  mile  below  the  bridge,  Pococke  mentions  an 
oblong  mount,  apparently  artificial,  round  the  summit 
of  which  are  the  foundations  of  a  strong  wall.  "At 
the  south  end,  and  on  the  east  side,  I  saw  the  remains 
of  two  very  handsome  gates  of  hewn  stone^  with 
round  turrets  at  the  corners.  At  the  north  end, 
there  is  a  great  heap  of  ruins,  probably  of  a  castle. 
The  whole  is  about  half  a  mile  in  circumference. 
There  are  some  signs  of  suburbs  to  the  south,  on  a 
lower  ground,  which  seems  to  have  been  fortified. 
The  pl.fce  is  now  Kaisar-Aterah,  or  Geser-Aierah,  and 

*  According. to  Burckhardt:  Pococke  sayg,  three  arches. 


346  PALESTINE;  OR, 

it  seems  to  have  been  an  improvement  of  the  Romans. 
A  mile  above  the  bridge,  there  is  a  mineral  water, 
which  seemed  to  be  of  sulphur  and  iron  :  it  is  walled 
in,  as  if  it  had  been  formerly  frequented.  About  half 
way  between  this  place  and  the  Lake  Samachonitis, 
is  a  little  hill  with  ruins  on  it,  which  they  now  call 
the  town  of  Jacob."  * 

From  Djeser  Beni  Yakoub,  Pococke  makes  it  but 
a  mile  and  a  half  (Burckhardt  about  three  quarters 
of  an  hour)  to  this  lake,  which  is  called  in  the  Scrip- 
tures "  the  waters  of  Merom,"  and  now  bears  the 
name  of  Bahr-el-Houly  (Lake  Julias).  According  to 
Josephus,  this  lake  was  seven  miles  long';  but  it  is 
not,  our  modern  authorities  state,  above  two  miles 
broad,  except  at  the  north  end,  where  it  maybe  about 
four.  The  banks  are  very  low,  the  hills  not  approach, 
ing  it  in  any  part.  It  is,  however,  on  a  level  consi- 
derably higher  than  Lake  Tabaria.  The  south-west 
shore  bears  the  name  of  Melaha,  from  the  ground 
being  covered  with  a  saline  crust.  The  fisheries  of 
the  lake  are  rented  of  the  Mutsellim  of  Szaffad,  by 
some  fishermen  of  that  town.  It  is  inhabited,  Burck- 
hardt says,  only  on  the  eastern  borders,  where  we  find 
the  villages  Eddeir  and  Esseira,  and  between  them  a 
ruined  place  called  Kherbet  Eddaherye.  "  The 
waters  are  muddy,  and  esteemed  unwholesome,  having 
something  of  the  nature  of  the  waters  of  a  morass, 

*  Pococke's  Travels,  book  i.  chap.  18.  Dr.  Richardson  mentions 
another  small  lake,  between  this  and  Lake  Tabaria,  a  little  below 
Jacob's  Bridge,  which,  "  at  first  sight,  appeared  to  be  a  continu- 
ation of  the  Lake  of  Gennesareth ;  but,  when  we  obtained  a  view 
of  it  from  higher  ground,  we  were  satisfied,"  he  says,  ««  that  it  was 
not.  In  some  of  the  maps,  it  is  marked  as  the  Lake  Semechonitis 
of  Josephus,  and  the  description  is  in  some  respects  applicable  to 
it ;  but  then  it  must  not  be  considered  as  synonymous  with  the 
Bahr-ei-Hoolya." 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  347 

which  is  partly  caused  by  their  stopping  the  brooks 
cm  the  west  side  in  order  to  water  the  country,  so 
that  the  water  passes  through  the  earth  into  this 
lake ;  It  is  also  in  some  measure  owing  to  the  mud- 
diness  of  its  bed.  After  the  snows  are  melted,  and 
the  waters  fallen,  it  is  only  a  marsh  through  which 
the  Jordan  runs.  The  waters,  by  passing  through 
the  rocky  bed  towards  the  sea  of  Tiberias,  settle, 
purify,  and  become  very  wholesome."  Such  is  Po- 
cocke's  account.  Seetzen  says,  that  its  shores  are 
frequented  by  a  great  number  of  wild  boars,  who 
conceal  themselves  in  the  rushes  and  reeds  which 
surround  it.  Captain  Mangles  describes  the  plain 
on  the  north  as  literally  covered  with  wild  geese, 
ducks,  widgeon,  snipe,  and  other  water-fowl  of  every 
description.  He  found  the  country  beyond  the  lake 
full  of  marshes  and  swamps,  so  as  to  endanger  in 
some  instances  the  horses,  and  intersected  with  nume- 
rous streams. 

Between  three  and  four  hours  from  Jacob's  Bridge, 
the  route  taken  by  Dr.  Richardson  led  to  a  mill  and 
soap-manufactory,  situated  at  the  source  of  a  large 
stream,  nearly  as  broad,  but  not  so  deep,  as  the 
Jordan:  it  is  called  Geersh.  The  houses  of  the 
village  here  were  observed  to  be  "  pavilion-roofed,  not 
flat,  as  in  Egypt  and  Palestine :  the  inhabitants 
seemed  a  licentious,  disorderly  people."  About  a  mile 
further,  through  rich  cultivated  fields,  they  passed  the 
top  of  another  large  stream,  and  pitched  their  tents 
on  a  sloping  bank  near  the  village  of  Vallahe,  the 
second  night  after  leaving  Nazareth.  "  This  aeemed," 
he  says,  "  to  be  inly  a  temporary  village.  The 
houses  were  constructed  of  bundles  of  reeds  tied 
together ;  and  it  was  probably  only  a  summer  resi- 


348  PALESTINE  ;   OR, 

dence,  for,  during  the  rainy  season,  the  greater 
part  of  the  plain  would  be  inundated.  Fine  herds 
of  black  cattle  were  feeding  around."  The  next 
day,  they  proceeded  along  the  edge  of  a  watery  plain, 
intersected  with  numberless  ditches  and  streamlets, 
and  overrun  with  gigantic  thistles,  which  reached 
to  their  saddles,  and  annoyed  them  excessively.  The 
common  track  avoids  them.  High  mountains  here 
bound  the  vale  of  the  Jordan  on  either  side,  while 
"  the  loftier  Busia  unites  them  at  its  termination, 
looking  from  his  throne,  the  snow-crowned  monarch 
of  the  vale." 

Having  cleared  the  plain,  they  got  upon  higher 
ground,  and  came  to  another  village  of  reed-huts, 
like  Yallahe.  A  little  higher  up,  they  crossed  a  stone 
bridge  of  five  arches,  thrown  over  a  considerable 
river,  which  brawls  its  way  over  a  rough  and  stony 
bed,  down  to  Lake  Houle.  A  well-cut  stone,  bearing 
an  Arabic  inscription,  which  had  belonged  to  the 
bridge,  lay  on  the  bank.  After  crossing  the  bridge, 
they  descended  in  a  southerly  direction,  crossed 
another  stream,  and  came  to  a  mount  named  Til-el- 
Kathre.  From  the  top  of  this  delightful  elevation, 
to  which  they  ascended  by  a  well-formed  road,  they 
enjoyed  an  extensive  view  of  the  whole  of  the  Bahr- 
el-Hoolya,  spreading  along  its  base  towards  the  south, 
with  the  meadowy  plain  intersected  by  the  mountain 
rivulets,  and  the  mountains  by  which  it  is  bounded. 
Djebel  Sheikh,  capped  with  snow,  was  seen  over- 
topping the  whole  range  on  the  north.  The  traces 
of  former  improvement  shewed  that  art  had  once  lent 
its  aid  to  improve  the  natural  capabilities  of  this 
situation.  Four  stone  huts,  flat-roofed,  were  now  all 
that  occupied  the  mound ;  the  winder  residence  of 


THE  HOLY   LAND.  349 

some  native  families  who  were  then  enjoying  them- 
selves in  their  tents.  Hard  by  the  stream  which 
flows  at  the  foot,  was  a  sheikh's  tomb,  under  the 
shade  of  a  stately  oak,  whose  branches  were  hung 
with  votive  rags  and  strings ;  and  some  lately-burned 
ashes  lay  on  the  tomb  itself.  A  grove  of  venerable 
oaks  here  yields  the  traveller  a  most  welcome  shade. 
He  is  still  within  the  pashalic  of  Acre. 

The  route  taken  by  Dr.  Richardson  now  lay  west- 
ward, through  a  fine  undulating  plain,  partially  cul- 
tivated, and  enlivened  with  trees,  but  almost  without 
inhabitants.  After  crossing  the  mountain  range  on 
the  left  of  the  Jordan,  they  traversed  another  valley, 
and  another  mountain,  from  which  they  descended 
into  the  beautiful  vale  of  Hasbeia.  This  is  the  name 
of  a  considerable  tract  lying  to  the  west  of  Djebel 
Sheikh,  chiefly  inhabited  by  Druses.  The  town  of 
this  name  is  situated  on  the  top  of  a  high  hill,  and 
may  contain,  Burckhardt  says,  seven  hundred  houses, 
half  of  which  belong  to  Druse  families  ;  the  rest,  with 
the  exception  of  about  forty  Turkish  families  and 
twenty  Enzairie,  to  Christians  :  these  are  principally 
Greeks,  but  there  are  also  Catholics  and  Maronites. 
The  inhabitants  make  cotton  cloth  for  shirts  and 
gowns,  and  have  a  few  dyeing-houses.  The  chief 
production  of  the  soil  is  olives.  The  chief  of  the 
town  is  an  emir  of  the  Druses,  dependent  both  on  the 
Emir  Beshir  and  the  Pasha  of  Damascus.  He  lives 
in  a  well-built  serai,  which  in  time  of  var  might 
serve  as  a  castle.  "  The  neighbourhood  of  Hasbeia," 
Burckhardt  states,  "  is  interesting  to  the  mineralo- 
gist. I  was  told  by  the  Greek  priest,"  (with  whom 
he  lodged,)  "  that  a  metal  was  found  near  it,  of  which 
nobody  knew  the  name,  nor  made  any  use.  Having 

PART   II.  X 


350  PALESTINE;  OH, 

procured  a  labourer,  I  found,  after  digging  in  the 
wady  a  few  hundred  paces  to  the  E.  of  the  village, 
several  small  pieces  of  a  metallic  substance,  which  I 
took  to  be  a  native  amalgam  of  mercury.  According 
to  the  description  given  me,  cinnabar  is  also  found 
here,  but  we  could  discover  no  specimen  of  it  after 
half  an  hour's  digging.  The  ground  all  around  and 
the  spring  near  the  village  are  strongly  impregnated 
with  iron.  The  rock  is  sandstone,  of  a  dark  red 
colour."  Seetzen  says,  "  The  mountains  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood are  for  the  most  part  calcareous,  and  in  the 
bottom  of  the  hills  are  seen  strata  of  trap.  The 
object  the  most  remarkable  in  the  mineralogy  of  the 
district,  is  a  mine  of  asphaltos  at  the  distance  of  a 
league  W.S.W.  of  Hasbeia."  Burckhardt  refers  to 
this  u  mine,"  which,  he.  says,  is  situated  upon  the 
declivity  of  a  chalky  hill  in  the  wady,  at  one  hour 
below  the  village  on  the  west  side.  He  calls  it  bitu- 
men Judaicum:  by  the  natives  it  is  called  hommar, 
and  the  mine,  Siar  el  hommar.  The  bitumen  is  found 
in  large  veins  at  about  twenty  feet  below  the  surface ; 
the  pits  are  from  six  to  twelve  feet  in  diameter.  The 
workmen  descend  by  a  rope  and  wheel,  and,  in  hewing 
out  the  bitumen,  they  leave  columns  of  that  substance 
at  different  intervals  as  a  support  to  the  earth  above. 
There  are  upwards  of  twenty-five  of  these  pits  or 
.wells,  but  the  greater  part  of  them  are  abandoned,'  or 
overgrown  with  shrubs.  Burchkardt  saw  only  one 
that  appeared  to  have  been  recently  worked,  and  says, 
they  work  only  during  the  summer  months.  The 
Emir  possesses  the  monopoly  of  the  bitumen  :  he  alone 
works  the  pits,  and  sells  the  produce  to  the  merchants 
of  Damascus,  Beirout,  and  Aleppo.  It  was  now  at 
about  twopence  halfpenny  the  pound.  Seetzen  says, 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  351 

that  the  greater  part  is  transported  to  Europe,  but 
that  it  is  used  by  the  natives  to  secure  the  vines  from 
insects.  * 

What  Dr.  Richardson  calls  the  Vale  of  Hasbeia, 
is  the  wady  watered  by  the  moiet-Hasbeia,  by  Seetzen 
called  the  Hasberia,  the  principal  source  of  which  is 
a  large  spring  that  wells  out  from  under  the  west 
side  of  Djebel  Sheikh,  and  is  said  to  run  into  the 
Bahr-el-Hoolya.  The  banks  of  the  river  are  covered 
with  numerous  plantations  of  mulberry-trees,  well 
cut  and  watered,  and  in  the  highest  order ;  and 
throughout  the  vale,  the  silk-worm  is  "  successfully 
cultivated." 

The  traveller  has  now  entered  the  pashalic  of  Da- 
mascus ;  but  the  chief  power  belongs  to  the  prince 
of  the  Druses,  and  there  are  few  Turks  in  the  country. 
A  stony  and  barren  track  succeeds,  hilly,  with 
patches  of  cultivation  and  but  thinly  peopled ;  the  soil 
limestone  and  a  large-grained  conglomerate.  On  the 
top  of  a  hill  to  the  right,  stands  the  Christian  village 
of  Reshia.  About  three  quarters  of  an  hour  further, 
on  the  left,  the  village  of  Firkook,  separated  from  the 
road  by  a  deep  ravine,  through  which  flows  a  rivulet. 
The  houses  are  high,  and  have  a  comfortable  appear- 
ance, rising  in  terraces  on  the  slope  of  the  hill. 
"  From  Firkook,"  continues  Dr.  Richardson,  "  the 
scenery  continued  of  nearly  the  same  description^  — 
ragged  columnar  masses  of  rock,  mixed  with  the 
lugubrious  cypress  and  dwarf  cedar,  all  the  way  to 


*  BuTckhardt  enumerates  the  following  villages  as  belonging 
to  the  territory  of  Hasbeia  .  Ain  Sharafe,  El  Kefeir,  Am  Annia, 
Shoueia,  Ain  Tinte,  El  Kankabe,  El  Heberie,  Rasheyat-el-Fuknar, 
Ferdis,  Khereibe,  El  Merie,  Shiba,  Baniat,  Ain  Fid,  Zoura,  Ain 
Kamed  Banias,  Djoubeta,  Fershouba,  Kefaer  Hamam,  El  Waesh- 
dal,  El  Zouye. 


352  PALESTINE;  OK, 

Rahlee,  which  is  four  miles  from  Reshia.  *  Here  we 
found  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  temple ;  a  small  edifice 
built  of  large  stones,  and  partially  ornamented  with 
sculpture,  apparently  of-  Roman  workma»ship,  and 
much  disintegrated.  On  the  opposite  of  the  road, 
there  are  many  stone  pots,  and  some  remarkably  fine 
walnut-trees.  Higher  Tip  the  bank  are  the  remains  of 
another  edifice,  which  is  called  the  palace."  They 
could  obtain  no  account  of  the  history  of  this  place. 
About  two  hours  further,  descending  a  steep  hill, 
they  issued  from  the  mountain  defiles  upon  a  stony, 
uncultivated  plain.  Three  more  hours  brought  them 
to  Katon,  a  substantial  village  built  with  stone,  and 
containing  many  houses  of  two  and  three  stories. 
Beyond  this,  the  soil  improves.  The  plain  is  remark- 
ably flat,  extensive,  and  intersected  in  all  directions 
by  small  streams.  Not  an  enclosure  is  to  be  seen ; 
but  it  was  covered  at  this  time  with  crops  of  wheat 
and  barley,  beyond  which  was  seen  a  wood.  The  road 
is  a  narrow,  regular,  well-worn  track,  resembling  a 
cross-road  in  this  country.  Five  hours  from  Eaton,  it 


*  Seetzen  noticed  ruins  of  a  Roman  temple,  consisting  of  a 
single  column  of  the  peristyle  of  the  Ionic  order,  of  the  best 
execution,  at  a  village  called  Asha,  inhabited  by  Druses  and 
Greek  Christians,  at  about  a  day's  journey  from  Rashela.  The 
latter  village  he  states  to  be  the  residence  of  an  emir,  whose  au- 
thority extends  over  twenty  other  vfllages  ;  it  is  situated  on  the 
steep  declivity  of  a  mountain,  about  two  days  from  Damascus. 
Hasbeia,  he  makes  five  leagues  to  the  south  of  Rasheia,  and  says, 
it  is  somewhat  larger,  and,  like  it,  situated  on  the  steep  descent 
of  a  mountain.  Here  he  alighted  at  the  house  of  the  learned 
Greek  Bishop  of  Sur  (Tyre),  or  Seide  (Sidon),  to  whom  he  hnd  a 
letter  of  recommendation.  The  two  districts  of  Rasheia  and 
Hasbeia  are  stated  to  be  the  .least  known  of  all  Syria.  — See 
"  Brief  Account  of  the  Countries  adjoining  the  Lake  of  Tiberias, 
&c.  by  M.  Seetzen."  Small  4to.  Published  for  the  Palestine  A*- 
fe<xi«tion  of  London. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  353 

leads  to  another  small  village,  with  a  large  cemetery ; 
the  tombs  and  houses  alike  built  of  burnt  brick.  An 
hour  further  conducts  the  traveller  to  the  walls  of 
Damascus.  About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  on  this  side  of 
the  western  gate,  is  shewn  the  place  where  Saul  fell 
to  the  earth,  smitten  with  blindness  by  a  light  from 
heaven.  It  is  on  the  side  of  the  old  road,  near  the 
ruined  arch  of  a  bridge,  and  close  by  are  the  tombs  of 
some  devout  Christians ;  but  there  is  no  chapel  or 
convent  built  over  it.  The  Empress  Helena  has  not 
been  here  ;  and  there  is  nothing  to  check  the  indul- 
gence of  the  supposition  that,  possibly,  this  may  be 
about  the  spot  of  that  memorable  transaction. 

PANIAS. 

BURCKHARDT,  in  coming  from  Damascus,  pursued 
the  more  direct  route  taken  by  the  caravans,  which 
crosses  the  Jordan  at  Jacob's  Bridge.  Captains  Irby 
and  Mangles  left  this  road  at  Khan  Sasa,  and  passed 
to  the  westward  for  Panias,  thus  striking  into  a  mid- 
dle route  between  the  high  road  to  Acre,  and  that 
by  Raschia  and  Hasbeya.  The  first  part  of  the  road 
from  Sasa,  led  through  a  fine  plain,  watered  by  a 
pretty,  winding  rivulet,  with  numerous  tributary 
streams,  and  many  old  ruined  mills.  It  then  ascended 
over  a  very  rugged  and  rocky  soil,  quite  destitute 
of  vegetation,  having  in  some  places  traces  of  an 
ancient  paved  way,  "  probably  the  Roman  road  from 
Damascus  to  Cesarea  Philippi."  The  higher  part  of 
Djebel  Sheikh  was  seen  on  the  right.  The  road 
became  less  stony,  and  the  shrubs  increased  in  number, 
size,  and  beauty,  as  they  descended  into  a  very  rich 
little  plain,  at  the  immediate  foot  of  that  mountain. 
"  There  is  a  conspicuous  tomb  in  this  valley  ;  and 
a  rivulet,  which  appears  to  take  its  source  atr  the  foot 
x  2 


354  PALESTINE;  OR, 

of  the  mountains,  passes  along  the  western  side  of  the 
plain  in  a  southerly  direction,  when  its  course  turns 
more  to  the  westward,  and  rushing,  in  a  very  pic- 
turesque manner,  through  a  deep  chasm,  covered  ^y 
shrubs  of  various  descriptions,  it  joins  the  Jordan  at 
Panias."  *  This  is  marked  in  Arrowsmith's  chart, 
as  the  real  source  of  the  Jordan ;  the  fountains  at 
Panias,  though  by  far  the  most  copious,  not  being  the 
most  distant  source.  "  From  this  plain,"  continues 
Captain  M.,  "  we  ascended,  and,  after  passing  a  very 
small  village,  saw  on  our  left,  close  to  us,  a  very 
picturesque  lake,  apparently  perfectly  circular,  of  little 
more  than  a  mile  in  circumference,  surrounded  on  all 
sides  by  sloping  hills,  richly  wooded.  The  singularity 
of  this  lake  is,  that  it  has  no  apparent  supply  or 
discharge ;  and  its  waters  appeared  perfectly  still, 
though  clear  and  limpid.  A  great  many  wild-fowl 
were  swimming  in  it.  Josephus  mentions  it  under 
the  name  of  Phiala  (cup),  in  allusion  to  the  shape 
of  the  lake.  It  was  supposed  by  the  ancients  to  be  the 
real  source  of  the  Jordan.  A  passage  in  the  Jewish 
historian  notices,  that  they  threw  straw  into  the  lake, 
which  came  out  at  the  apparent  source  at  Panias.-f 

*  This  description  seems  to  answer  to  the  water  of  Hasbeia  • 
whether  it  joins  the  Jordan  at  Panias,  is  a  question. 

t  "  Now  Panium  is  thought  to  be  the  fountain  of  Jordan ;  but, 
in  reality,  it  is  carried  thither  after  an  occult  manner  from  the 
olace  called  Phiala.  This  place  lies  as  you  go  up  to  Trachonitis, 
and  is  120  furlongs  from  Cesarea,  and  is  not  far  out  of  the  road 
on  the  right-hand.  And  indeed  it  hath  its  name  of  Phiala  (vial 
jr  bowl)  very  justly,  from  the  roundness  of  its  circumference, 
*s  being  round  like  a  wheel ;  its  water  continues  always  up  to 
its  edges,  without  either  sinking  or  running  over ;  and  this 
origin  of  Jordan  was  formerly  not  known.  It  was  discovered 
so  to  be  when  Philip  was  Tetrarch  of  Trachonitis;  for  he  had 
chaff  thrnpn  into  Phiala,  and  it  was  found  at  Panium,  where 
the  ancients  thought  the  fountain-head  of  the  river  was,  whither 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  355 

But  this  is  impossible  ;  for,  to  arrive  at  Panias,  its 
discharge  must  pass  under  the  rivulet  which  Arrow- 
smith  points  out  as  the  true  source.  On  quitting 
Phiala,  at  but  a  short  distance  from  it,  we  crossed 
a  stream,  which  discharges  into  the  larger  one  which 
we  first  saw :  the  latter  we  followed  for  a  considerable 
distance ;  and  then,  mounting  a  hill  to  the  S.W.,  had 
in  view  the  great  Saracenic  castle  near  Panias,  the 
town  of  that  name,  and  the  plain  of  the  Jordan,  as 
far  as  the  Lake  Houle,  with  the  mountains  on  the 
other  side  of  the  plain,  forming  altogether  a  fine 
coup  (TaeiL  As  we  descended  towards  Panias,  we 
found  the  country  extremely  beautiful.  Great  quail- 
it  had  been,  therefore,  carried  by  the  waters Now  Jordan-* 

visible  stream  arises  from  this  cavern,  and  divides  the  marshes  and 
fens  of  the  Lake  Semechonitis ;  and  when  it  hath  run  another 
J20  furlongs,  it  first  passes  by  the  city  Julias,  and  then  passes 
through  the  middle  of  the  Lake  Gennesareth." — JOSEPHUS,  Wart, 
book  iii.  chap.  10,  §  7-  M.  Seetzen  makes  the  Lake  of  Phiala  two 
leagues  distant  to  the  east  of  Panias ;  and  says,  it  now  bears  the 
name  of  Birkct-el-Ram,  under  which  name  it  is  given  fci  Arrow- 
snmh's  map.  But  Burckhardt  states,  that  what  the  Bedouins  call 
Birket-el-Ram,  and  the  peasants  Birket  Abou  Armeii,  is  a  reser- 
voir of  water  a  few  hundred  paces  to  the  S.  of  the  regular  road, 
near  the  foot  of  Tel  Abou  Nedy :  it  is,  he  says,  about  120  paces  in 
circumference,  and  is  supplied  by  two  springs  which  are  never  dry, 
one  of  which  is  in  the  bottom  of  a  deep  well  in  the  midst  of  the 
Birket.  Just  by  this  reservoir  are  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  town, 
about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  in  circuit,  of  which  nothing  remains 
but  large  heaps  of  stones.  Five  minutes  further  is  another  Uirket, 
which  is  filled  by  rain-water  only.  The  neighbourhood  of  these 
reservoirs  is  covered  with  a  forest  of  short  oaks.  The  road  now 
begins  to  descend  gently ;  and  an  hour  and  a  half  further,  just  by 
the  road  on  the  left,  is  "  a  large  pond,"  about  200  paces  in  circum- 
ference, called  Birket  Nefah  or  Tejah:  it  was  said  to  contahi  a 
spring,  but  some  denied.it.  "  From  which  I  inferred,"  says 
Burckhardt,  "  that  the  water  never  dries  up  completely.  I  take 
this  to  be  the  Lake  Phiala,  as  there  is  no  other  lake  or  pond  in  the 
neighbourhood." — Travels  in  Syria,  p.  314. 


356  PALESTINE  ;    OR, 

tities  of  wild  flowers,  and  a  variety  of  shrubs  just 
budding,  together  with  the  richness  of  the  verdure, 
grass,  corn,  and  beans,  shewed  us  all  at  once  the 
beauties  of  spring  (Feb.  24),  and  conducted  us  into  a 
climate  quite  different  to  that  of  Damascus.  In  the 
evening,  we  entered  Panias,  crossing  a  causeway  con- 
structed over  the  rivulet,  which  flows  from  the  foot  of 
Djebel  Sheikh.  The  river  here  rushes  over  great 
rocks  in  a  very  picturesque  manner,  its  banks  being 
covered  with  shrubs  and  the  ruins  of  the  ancient 
walls." 

Panias,  afterwards  called  Cesarea  Philippi,  has  re- 
sumed its  ancient  name.  The  present  town  of  Banias 
is  small.  Seetzen  describes  it  as  a  little  hamlet  of 
about  twenty  miserable  huts,  inhabited  by  Mahom- 
medans ;  but  Burckhardt  says,  it  contains  about  150 
houses,  inhabited  mostly  by  Turks :  there  are  also 
Greeks,  Druses,  and  Enzairies.  It  belongs  to  Hasbeia, 
whose  emir  nominates  the  sheikh.  It  is  situated  at 
the  foot  of  the  mountain  called  Djebel  Heish.  To 
the  N.E.  of  the  village,  is  the  source  of  the  river  of 
Banias,  which  flows  under  a  well-built  bridge  on  the 
north  side  of  the  village,  near  which  are  some  remains 
of  the  ancient  town.  The  ground  it  now  occupies  is 
of  a  triangular  form,  enclosed  by  the  river  on  one  side, 
a  rivulet  on  the  other,  and  the  mountain  at  the  back. 
The  "  Castle  of  Banias  "  is  situated  on  the  summit  of 
a  lofty  mountain :  it  was  built,  Seetzen  says,  without 
giving  his  authority,  in  the  time  of  the  caliphs. 
Burckhardt  says,  it  seems  to  have  been  erected  during 
the  period  of  the  Crusades ;  he  saw  no  inscriptions, 
but  was  afterwards  told  that  there  are  several,  both  in 
Arabic  and  in  Frank  (Greek  or  Latin).  The  moun- 
tain on  which  it  stands,  forming  part  of  the  Djebel 


THE   HOLY   LAND.  357 

Heish,  is  an  hour  and  a  quarter  from  Banias,  bearing 
from  it  E.  by  S.  "  It  is  now  completely  in  ruins,  but 
was  once  a  strong  fortress.  Its  whole  circumference 
is  twenty-five  minutes.  It  is  surrounded  with  a  wall 
ten  feet  thick,  flanked  with  numerous  round  towers, 
built  with  equal  blocks  of  stone,  each  about  two  feet 
square.  The  keep,  or  citadel,  seems  to  have  been 
on  the  highest  summit  on  the  eastern  side,  where  the 
walls  are  stronger  than  on  the  other  side.  On  the 
western  side,  within  the  precincts  of  the  castle,  are 
ruins  of  many  private  habitations.  At  both  the 
western  corners,  runs  a  succession  of  dark,  strongly- 
built,  low  apartments,  like  cells,  vaulted,  and  with  small, 
narrow,  loop-holes,  as  if  for  musquetry.  On  this  side 
also  is  a  well,  more  than  twenty  feet  square,  walled  in, 
with  a  vaulted  roof  at  least  twenty-five  feet  high. 
The  well  was,  even  in  this  dry  season,  full  of  water  : 
there  are  three  others  in  the  castle.  It  has  but  one 
gate,  on  the  south  side.  In  winter  time,  the  shep- 
herds of  the  Felahs  of  the  Heish,  who  encamp  upon 
the  mountain,  pass  the  night  in  the  castle  with  their 
cattle."  The  view  from  hence  is  described  as  mag- 
nificent. The  wady  at  its  S.E.  foot  is  called  Wady 
Kyb ;  that  on  its  western  side,  Wady-el-Kashabe  ; 
and  that  "  on  the  other  side  of  the  latter,"  (the  equi- 
vocal expression  is  Burckhardt's,)  Wady-el-Asal. 

Where  was  the  temple  erected  by  Herod  the  Great 
in  honour  of  Augustus,  out  of  gratitude  to  the  Em- 
peror for  having  put  him  in  possession  of  Trachonitis  ? 
Seetzen  remarks,  that  the  circuit  of  the  ancient  walls 
of  the  city  is  easily  distinguishable,  but  that  no  traces 
remain  of  this  magnificent  edifice.  Burckhardt  no- 
ticed some  remains  of  the  ancient  town  near  the 
bridge,  but  says,  that  the  principal  part  seems  to 
have  been  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  where 


358  PALESTINE;  OR, 

the  ruins  extend  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  beyond  the 
bridge.  No  walls  remain  ;  but  great  quantities  of 
stones  and  architectural  fragments  are  scattered  about. 
He  saw  here  one  entire  column  of  small  dimensions, 
and  in  the  village,  on  the  left  side  of  the  river,  a 
granite  column  one  foot  and  a  half  in  diameter.  On 
the  south  side  of  the  village  are  the  ruins  of  a  strong 
castle,  which,  from  its  appearance  and  mode  of  con- 
struction, may,  he  conjectures,  be  of  the  same  age 
as  the  castle  on  the  mountain.  It  is  surrounded  with 
a  broad  ditch,  within  which  was  a  wall :  several  towers 
are  still  standing.  A  very  solid  bridge,  which  crosses 
the  winter  torrent  Wady-el-Kyd,  leads  to  the  entrance 
of  the  castle,  over  which  is  an  Arabic  inscription, 
with  a  date  coinciding  with  the  era  of  the  Crusades. 
There  are  five  or  six  granite  columns  built  into  the 
walls  of  the  gateway.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
these  formed  part  of  some  ancient  edifice,  and  possibly 
of  the  temple  in  question.  The  whole  mountain, 
however,  had  the  name  of  Panium ;  and  Dr.  Richard- 
son is  disposed  to  imagine,  that  the  Khallat-el-Banias 
on  the  mountain  may  be  built  on  the  site  of  the 
temple.  The  commanding  situation,  overlooking  the 
whole  plain,  may  be  thought  to  have  recommended  it 
to  Herod,  as  comporting  with  the  magnificence  of  his 
conceptions ;  and  it  is  remarkable,  that,  distant  as  it  is 
from  the  town,  it  should  preserve  the  name  of  the 
Castle  of  Banias.  The  determination  of  this  point 
must  be  left  to  future  travellers. 

The  city  of  Panias  owed  its  Roman  name,  and 
much  of  its  consequence  and  architectural  decoration, 
to  Herod  Philip  the  Tetrarch,  who  called  it  Cesarea 
in  honour  of  Tiberius  Caesar :  it  received  the  adjunct 
of  his  own  name  to  ditinguish  it  from  Cesarea  of 
Palestine.  It  was  indebted  for  further  improvements 


THE   HOLY   LAND,  359 

to  the  royal  liberality  of  Agrippa.*  The  neighbour- 
hood is  very  beautiful,  richly  wooded,  and  abounding 
with  game.  The  "  apparent  source  of  the  Jordan," 
flows  from  under  a  cave  at  the  foot  of  a  precipice,  in 
the  perpendicular  sides  of  which  are  several  niches, 
adorned  with  pilasters,  having  under  them  Greek 
inscriptions.  Upon  the  top  of  the  rock,  to  the  left 
of  these,  is  a  mosque  dedicated  to  Nebbi  Khouder, 
called  by  the  Christians  Mar  Georgius,  which  is  a 
place  of  devotion  for  Mahommedan  strangers  passing 
this  way.  Seetzen  says  :  "  The  copious  source  of  the 
Hiver  of  Banias  rises  near  a  remarkable  grotto  in  the 
rock,  on  the  declivity  of -which  I  copied  some  ancient 
Greek  inscriptions,  dedicated  to  Pan  and  the  Nymphs 
of  the  Fountain.  The  ancients  gave  the  name  of 
4  Source  of  the  Jordan'  to  the  spring  from  which  the 
Banias  rises ;  and  its  beauty  might  entitle  it  to  that 
name.  But,  in  fact,  it  appears,  that  the  preference  is 
due  to  the  spring  of  the  river  Hasberia,  which  rises 
half  a  league  to  the  west  of  Hasbeia,  and  which  forms 
the  largest  branch  of  the  Jordan.  The  spring  of  Tel- 
el-Kadi,  which  the  natives  take  for  the  source  of  the 
Jordan,  is  that  which  least  merits  the  name." 

Pococke  observes,  that  St.  Jerome  mentions  a  vil- 
lage called  Dan,  four  miles  from  this  site.  Burckhardt 
states,  that  an  hour  and  a  quarter  to  the  N.E.  of 
Banias,  is  situated  ^  the  source  of  the  Jordan,  or, 
as  it  is  here  called,  Dhan,"  in  the  plain,  near  the  hill 
called  Tel-el-Kadi — the  spring  to  which  Seetzen  re- 
fers ;  and  the  distance  agrees  with  the  place  mentioned 
by  Jerome.  There  are,  we  are  told,  two  springs  near 
each  other,  one  smaller  than  the  other,  whose  waters 

*  "  As  for  Panium  itself,  its  natural  beauty  had  been  improved 
by  the  royal  liberality  of  Agrippa,  and  adorned  at  his  expense." — 
JOSEPH.  Wars,  book  iii.  chap.  10. 


360  PALESTINE;  OK, 

unite  immediately  below :  the  larger  source  imme- 
diately forms  a  river  twelve  or  fifteen  yards  across, 
which  rushes  rapidly  over  a  stony  bed  into  the  lower 
plain.  Both  sources  are  on  level  ground,  among  rocks 
of  tufwacke.  There  are  no  ruins  of  any  kind  near 
the  springs  ;  but  the  hill  over  them  seems  to  have 
been  built  upon,  though  nothing  now  is  visible.  At  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  to  the  N.  of  the  spring,  are  ruins 
of  ancient  habitations,  built  of  the  black  tufwacke,  the 
principal  rock  found  ;n  the  plain.  The  few  houses  at 
present  inhabited  on  that  spot,  are  called  JEnkeil. 
"  I  was  told,"  adds  Burckhardt,  "  that  the  ancient 
name  of  the  River  of  Banias  was  Djowr,  which, 
added  to  the  name  of  Dhan,  made  Jourdan.  The 
more  correct  etymology  is,  probably,  Or  Dhan, — in 
Hebrew,  the  River  of  Dhan.  Lower  down,  between 
the  Houle  and  the  Lake  Tabaria,  it  is  called  Orden 
by  the  inhabitants.  To  the  southward  of  the  Lake  of 
Tabaria,  it  bears  the  name  of  Sherya,  till  it  falls  into 
the  Dead  Sea." 

The  whole  of  this  statement,  there  is  reason  to 
suspect,  rests  upon  hearsay  ;  and  when  it  is  recollected 
that  Burckhardt's  authorities  in  this  quarter  were, 
for  the  most  part,  Greek  priests,  there  is  the  more 
necessity  for  caution  in  receiving  that  part  of  it  which 
relates  to  the  ancient  names.  That  the  Banias  was 
anciently  called  the  Djour,  is  a  mere  legend  ;  and  as 
little  is  it  to  be  believed,  that  the  river,  below  Lake 
Houle,  rs  called  the  Orden,  unless  by  the  Christians. 
It  is,  however,  to  this  legendary  opinion  respecting 
the  source  of  the  Jordan,  that  Milton  may  be  thought 
to  refer,  when  he  says, 

"  Here  the  double-founted  stream, 
Jordan,  true  limit  eastward."  * 

•  Par  Lost,  book  jdi.  line  144. 


THE   HOLY  LAND.  361 

The  same  description  would,  nevertheless,  apply  to  it, 
as  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  waters  of  Hasbeia 
and  Banias  ;  and  Seetzen's  remark  is  deserving  of 
attention,  that  this  third  source  of  Tel.  el-Kadi  least 
merits  the  name  of  the  source  of  the  Jordan. 

The  name  Panias  is  of  classic  origin,  and  is  sup- 
posed  to  be  derived  from  the  worship  of  Pan.     The 
cavern  and  Ham/ay,  or  sanctuary  of  Pan,  are  described 
by  Josephus.     The  niche  in  the  cavern  probably  con- 
tained  a  statue   of  the   god.     In  the   middle   niche 
in   the   rock,    the   base  of  a   statue   is   still   visible. 
Round  the  source  of  the  river  are  a  number  of  hewn 
stones,  which  appear  to  have  belonged  to  some  ancient 
edifice.     Some  have  supposed  this  place  to  be  the  Dan 
of  the  Scriptures,  on  the  slender  ground  of  the  faint 
resemblance  of  the  names.     The   hill   is   considered 
as  the  Mount  Hermon  of  the  Old  Testament,  that 
being   mentioned   as  the   northern  boundary  of  the 
Land  of  Israel  on  the  other  side  of  Jordan,  as  over- 
looking the  Valley  of  Lebanon,  and  as  a  boundary 
of  the  country  of  the  Hivites   in   Mount   Lebanon, 
which  extended  from  Baal-Hermon  to  Hamath.*     If 
so,  this  would  seem  to  be  "  the  Valley  of  Lebanon," 
and  Panias  might  claim  to  be  considered  as  the  Baal- 
Gad  which  was  under  Mount  Hermon.  +     The  name 
of  Baal,  thus  connected  both  with  the  mountain  and 
the  city,  would  seem  to  refer  to  the  heathen  worship 
that  was  carried  on  here.      It  was  the  same  deity, 
apparently,  that  gave  his  name  to  Baaltec.     Without 
attempting  to  trace  any  connexion  between  the  attri- 
butes  of  the   Syrian  Baal   and  the   classic   Pan,   it 
would  not  be  a  violent  conjecture,  that  the  worship  of 
the  one  might  succeed   the   adoration   of  the   other 

•Josh.  xi.  17;  xiii.  11 ;  Judges  iii.  3.          t  J'>»h.  xlli.  5. 
PART  ii.  Y 


362  PALESTINE;  OR, 

deity.  The  mountain,  as  well  as  the  city,  would 
undergo  a  correspondent  change  of  name  ;  and  thus, 
Baal-Hermon  would  become  Panium,  and  Baal-Gad, 
Panias.  In  like  manner,  Baal-Bek  was  changed  — 
we  might  say,  translated  into  Heliopolis.  A  sacred 
fountain  in  Greece  almost  invariably  points  out  the 
site  of  an  ancient  temple  ;  and  the  ustial  characteris- 
tics of  these  agiasmata,  or  holy  fountains,  are,  a 
romantic  landscape,  and  the  neighbourhood  of  a  cavern 
or  grove.  Here  we  have  every  circumstance  united, 
that  superstition  required  to  give  sacredness  to  the 
place. 

But,  in  reference  to  the  ancient  names,  there  is  a 
remarkable  passage  in  Josephus,  which  deserves  con. 
sideration.  The  marshes  of  Lake  Semechonitis  reach, 
he  says,  "  as  far  as  the  place  Daphne,  which,  in  other 
respects,  is  a  delicious  place,  and  hath  such  fountains 
as  supply  water  to  what  is  called  Little  Jordan,  under 
the  temple  of  the  golden  calf,  where  it  is  sent  into 
Great  Jordan."  *  Reland  supposes  that  the  text  is  cor- 
rupted, and  that,  instead  of  Daphne  in  this  place,  we 
should  read  Dan.  If  not,  we  may  conclude  that  the 
ancient  Dan  was  afterwards  called  Daphne.  The  Little 
Jordan  is,  most  probably,  the  Banias  of  Burckhardt, 
which,  at  the  distance  of  an  hour  and  a  half  in  the 
plain  below,  falls  into  what  Seetzen  denominates  the 
Hasbeia,  —  the  Moiet  Hasbeia,  which  is  the  larger 
branch.  Near  the  confluence  of  these  streams,  we  must 
look  for  the  Dan  of  the  Scripture,  and  the  exact  situa- 
tion of  one  of  Jeroboam's  golden  calves,  f  Panias, 
supposed  by  the  ancients  to  be  the  source  of  the  Jordan, 
can  hardly  be  the  place  referred  to  by  Josephus.  It 

Wars,  book  iv.  chap.  1. 

c*e  Judges  xviii.  i.9.   1  Kings  xii-  29. 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  363 

must,  therefore,  be  below  it ;  and  we  are  strongly 
inclined  to  believe,  that  the  sequestered  mound  and 
the  grove  of  venerable  oaks,  described  by  Dr.  Richard- 
son in  such  glowing  language,  will  be  found  to  answer 
most  completely  to  the  Daphne  of  Josephus,*  and 
the  Dan  of  Scripture,  where  once  stood  the  temple  of 
the  golden  calf.  It  must  be  near  this  delicious  spot, 
that  the  river  of  Hasbeia  meets  with  the  Banias  or 
Little  Jordan ;  and  the  marshes  of  Semachonitis 
extend  almost  to  the  base  of  the  mount.  It  is  ob- 
servable also,  that  the  plain  changes  its  name  nearly 
about  the  same  place,  from  Ard  Houle  to  Ard  Banias ; 
and  it  is  by  the  confluence  of  the  streams  here,  that 
the  river  is  formed,  which  Josephus  distinguishes  as 
the  Great  Jordan. 

CONCLUDING  REMARKS. 

HAVING  now  traversed  the  whole  Land  of  Israel 
west  of  this  boundary,  from  Beersheba  to  Dan,  we 
close  here  our  account  of  Palestine  ;  preferring,  for 
the  convenience  of  the  arrangement,  to  include  the 
districts  east  of  the  Jordan,  under  the  general  deno- 
mination of  Syria,  which  in  strictness  applies  to  the 
whole  country.  The  parts  we  have  described,  however, 
are  all  that  are  usually  comprehended  under  the  term 
Holy  Land ;  although,  as  the  scene  of  Scripture  his- 
tory, the  theatre  of  miracle  and  of  prophecy,  —  the 
Peninsula  of  Mount  Sinai,  the  shores  of  the  Idumean 
Sea,  and  the  coasts  of  Asia  Minor,  might  lay  claim  to 
the  appellation.  But  we  have  now  visited  the  whole 
of  Palestine,  Judea,  Samaria,  and  Galilee  —  those 

*  Lightfoot  says,  that  Riblah,  a  place  on  the  border  of  Israel, 
ib  by  the  Taigumists  rendered  Daphne.    They  render  Number 
» •    "  and  the  border  shall  go  doivn  to  Dapfmi." 


364  PALESTINE;  OR, 

countries  which,  above  all  others  under  the  sun,  are 
interesting  to  the  Christian.      And   abhorrent  alike 
from  reason  and  from  true  piety,  as  is  the  superstition 
that  has  grafted   itself  upon   this  interest,  yet,  the 
curiosity  which   inspires  the   traveller,    in   reference 
more  peculiarly  to  these  scenes,  is  rational  and  laud- 
able.    If  Troy  and  Thebes,  if  Athens  and  Rome,  are 
visited  with  classic  enthusiasm,  much  more  worthy  of 
awakening  the  strongest  emotions  in  the  mind  of  a 
Christian,  must  he  the  country  whose  history  as  far 
transcends  in  interest  that  of  every  other,  as  its  lite- 
rature (if  we  may  apply  that  term  to  the  divine  volume) 
excels  in  sublimity,  all  the  ethics,  and  philosophy,  and 
poetry,  and  eloquence  of  the  heathen  world.     This 
sentiment   of  interest   or   of  reverence   has,    indeed, 
no   necessary   connexion  with   religious   principle   or 
enlightened  worship  ;    for  it  may  actuate  alike  the 
pious  and  the  profligate  :  and,  in  the  character  of  the 
Greek  or  Romish  pilgrim,  it  is  too  generally  found  in 
connexion  with  an  utter  destitution  of  moral  principle. 
The  savage  fanaticism  of  the  Crusades  was  an  illus- 
tration of  this  fact  on  a  grand  scale ;  and  the  same 
spirit  that  breathed  in  Peter  the  Hermit,  yet  survives ; 
the  same  fanaticism  in  a  milder  form   actuates  the 
pilgrims  who  continue  to  visit  the  Holy  Sepulchre, 
with  the  view   of  expiating  their   sins  by  the  per- 
formance of  so  meritorious  a  penance.     The  Mussul- 
man hadgi,  or  the  Hindoo  devotee,  differs  little  in 
the  true  character  of  his  religion,  from  these  misguided 
Christians,  and  as  little  perhaps  in  his  morals  as  in 
his  creed.     Only  the  stocks  and  stones  in  which  their 
respective  worship  alike  terminates,  are  called  by  less 
holy  names.     It  becomes  the  Protestant  to  avoid  the 
appearance  of  symbolising  with  this  degrading   and 
idolatry.      But  were   all   this   mummery 


THE  HOLY  LAND.  3b5 

swept  away,  and  the  Holy  Land  cleared  of  all  the 
rubbish  brought  into  it  by  the  Empress  Helena,  the 
holy  sepulchre  included,  more  than  enough  would 
remain  to  repay  the  Christian  traveller,  in  the  durable 
monuments  of  Nature.  We  know  not  the  spot  where 
Christ  was  crucified  ;  nor  can  determine  the  cave  in 
which,  for  part  of  three  days,  his  body  was  ensepul- 
chred ;  nor  is  the  exact  point  ascertainable  from  which 
he  ascended  to  heaven.  The  Scriptures  are  silent,  and 
no  other  authority  can  supply  the  information.  But 
there  are  the  scenes  which  he  looked  upon,  the 
holy  mount  which  once  bore  the  temple,  that  Mount 
Olivet  which  once  overlooked  Jerusalem  ;  —  there  is 
Mount  Gerizim  overhanging  the  Valley  of  Shechem, 
and  the  hill  where  once  stood  Samaria ;  —  there  is 
Nazareth,  within  whose  secluded  vale  our  Lord  so 
long  awaited  the  time  appointed  for  his  public 
ministry, — the  plain  of  Gennesareth  and  the  Sea  of 
Galilee,  —  the  mountains  to  which  he  retired,  the 
plains  in  which  he  wrought  his  miracles,  the  waters 
which  he  trod,  —  and  here  the  Jordan  still  rolls  its 
consecrated  waters  to  the  bituminous  lake  where 
Sodom  stood. 


367 

APPENDIX.     (A.) 

NATURAL  HISTORY. 

IT  was  the  Editor's  intention  to  subjoin  a  fuller 
account  of  the  natural  productions  of  Palestine ;  but 
he  finds  that  this  would  occupy  more  space  than  can 
be  devoted  to  a  subject  remotely  connected  with  the 
design  of  the  present  work.  He  must  content  him- 
self, therefore,  with  referring  to  the  sources  of  infor- 
mation. 

Dr.  Shaw  acknowledges  that  he  was  in  too  great 
haste,  in  travelling  through  the  Holy  Land,  to  make 
many  observations,  much  less  to  collect  specimens. 
He  notices,  generally,  the  variety  of  anemonies,  ranun- 
culusses,  colchicas,  fritillaries,  and  tulips,  with  which 
the  plains  abound,  and  the  quantity  of  game  of  all 
kinds  ;  but  the  only  curious  animals,  he  says,  that  he 
had  the  good  fortune  to  see,  were  the  skinkore,  a 
species  of  lizard,  and  the  daman  Israel,  supposed  to 
be  the  saphan  *  of  the  Scriptures ;  an  animal  of  the 
size  of  a  rabbit,but  in  the  shortness  of  its  fore-feet,  re- 
sembling the  jerboa. 

The  notices  contained  in  Hasselquist's  Travels,  are 
scarcely  less  meagre.  The  animals  he  saw,  were  only 
five  sorts  of  quadrupeds, — the  porcupine,  the  jack  a!  1.  -j- 
the  fox,  the  rock -goat,  and  the  fallow-deer ;  and  fifteen 
of  birds.  His  collection  of  plants  is  somewhat  more 
ample,  and  will  be  *bund  deserving  of  attention.  It 
is  remarkable,  however,  that  the  pupil  of  Linnaeus 
should  have  given  the  bare  catalogue,  without  any  re- 
gard to  botanical  arrangement. 

Rendered  "  coney  "  \  ••  The  fox  of  Samson." 


368  APPENDIX. 

Dr.  Clarke's  Travels  contain  some  important  con. 
tributions  to  the  Botany  of  Palestine;  but  he  also 
was  in  haste,  and  saw  but  a  very  small  part  of  the 
Holy  Land. 

In  the  Travels  of  Burckhardt,  and  of  Captains  Irby 
and  Mangles,  will  be  found  many  scattered  notices 
peculiarly  interesting  to  the  naturalist.  But  the  in- 
formation is  not  precise  enough  to  enable  us  to  refer 
the  productions  alluded  to,  to  their  proper  place  in 
a  scientific  arrangement.  The  more  remarkable  of 
these  will  be  found  mentioned  in  the  body  of  our 
work;  and  they  will  supply  matter  for  the  more 
minute  observation  of  future  travellers.  At  present, 
our  knowledge  both  of  what  may  be  called  the  Scrip, 
tural,  and  of  the  actual  or  modern  Natural  History 
of  Palestine,  must  be  considered  as  very  imperfect. 
For  remarks  on  the  mandrake,  the  nature  of  which 
has  been  a  subject  of  learned  dissertation,  see  Shaw's 
Travels,  folio,  p.  369,  and  Maundrell's  Journey,  under 
Naplosa.  But  the  amplest  account  of  the  animals  and 
vegetable  productions  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures,  is 
that  given  by  the  very  ingenious  author  of  the  Frag- 
ments supplementary  to  Calmet's  Dictionary.  See  the 
edition  of  1823,  vol.  iv.  part  2,  pp.  9—128.  ' 


369 


APPENDIX.     (B.) 


GLOSS  \RY  OF  ARABIC  WORDS  OCCURRING  IN  THE 
GEOGRAPHY  OF  PALESTINE. 


Abd    Servant,  e.  g.  Abd 
Allah,  servant  of  God. 
Abou.  Father. 
Am.  Spring.  (Eye.) 
Ard.  Land.  District. 

Bahr.     Lake.     River. 

Sea. 

Belled.  Town.    Village. 
Ben.  Son. 
Beni.  Sons. 
Bet.  (Bait.)  House. 
Sir.  (Beer.)  Well 
Birket.  Pond.  Cistern. 

Caphar.  (Chaffer.)  Toll. 

Tribute. 
Caphar.    (Heb.)  Field. 

Camp.  Station. 

Djebel.  Mountain. 
Djeser.  Bridge. 

Gala    (Khallat)  Castle. 


Chaffer.  (Caphar.)  Toll. 
Tribute. 

Ibn.  Son. 

K&fer.    (Kafir.)    Infidel. 
Kepha.  Rock. 
Khallat.   Castle. 
Khan.  Inn. 

Min.  Port. 

Moye,  Moiet.  Water. 

Nahr.  (Same  as   Bahr.) 
Lake.     River.     Sea. 

Om.  (Oom.)  Mother 

Serai.  Palace. 
Sheikh.  Chief. 

Tel.  Heap. 
Tor.  High. 

Wwly    Valley    Ravine 


370 


APPENDIX.     (C.) 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  GROUND-PLAN  OF 
JERUSALEM. 


. .  Bethlehem  Gate. 

2.  Damascus  Gate. 

3.  Herod's  or  Ephraim 

Gate. 

4.  St.  Stephen's  Gate. 
h    The  Golden  Gate, 

(walled  up). 

5.  Gate  into  El  Aksa. 

7.  Dung  Gate. 

8.  Zion  Gate. 

9.  Armenian  Convent 

and  Garden. 

10.  Castle  of  the  Pisans. 

11.  Pool  of  Bathsheba. 

12.  House   for  Female 

Pilgrims. 

13.  Latin  Convent. 

14.  Ruins. 

15.  Church  of  the  Sepul- 

chre, a.  The  Sepul- 
chre,   b-  Calvary. 

16.  Herod's  Palace. 


17-  Mosque  of  St.  Anne 

18.  Pilate's  House. 

19.  Pool  of  Bethesda. 

20.  Haram  Schereeff.    a. 

Throne  of  Solomon. 

b.  Where  Mahomet 
is    to    sit    on    the 
Day  of  Judgment. 

c.  Entrance  to  the 
Grotto  of  Sidn  Aisa 

21.  Mosque  of  Omar. 
12.  Mosque  of  El  Aksa. 

23.  Bazars. 

24.  House  of  Annas. 

25.  Jews'  Synagogue. 

26.  House  of  Omar  Ef- 

fendi. 

27.  Palace  of  Caiaphas. 

28.  Sepulchre  of  David. 

29.  Tomhs. 

30.  King's  Pool. 

31.  Pool  of  Siloam. 


371 
APPENDIX.     (D.) 

DESIDERATA. 

IT  has  been  thought  that  it  might  aid  future 
travellers  to  throw  further  light  on  the  topogra- 
phy of  Palestine,  to  direct  their  attention  to  a  few 
desiderata. 

The  sites  of  the  following  ancient  towns  require 
to  be  ascertained  :  On  the  coast,  Antipatris  and  Apol- 
lonia,  between  Cesarea  and  Jaffa ;  and  Anthedon 
(Agrippias),  between  Gaza  and  Raphia, — probably  at 
or  near  Dair.  On  the  road  from  Gaza  to  the  ancient 
Eleutheropolis,  the  whole  of  which  is  untravelled  by 
Europeans,  Gath,  Marissa,  Adora,  Lachish.  Eleu- 
theropolis itself,  the  capital  of  the  Idumeans.  See 
p.  195.  In  the  same  direction  probably,  about  twenty 
miles  S.W.  of  Hebron,  Beersheba  in  Simeon.  Also, 
the  ruins  at  Abdi  in  the  desert,  three  days'  distance 
below  Hebron.  See  p.  201.  At  Hebron  the  Cave  of 
Machpelah.  Examine  also  the  House  of  Abraham, 
between  Sipheer  and  Hebron.  See  p.  200.  The 
whole  road  from  Hebron  to  the  Gulf  of  Akaba  remains 
to  be  explored.  Also  the  route  from  Hebron  to 
Rihhah.  The  bearing  and  length  of  the  Dead  Sea 
require  to  be  verified. 

At  Jerusalem — 1.  The  precise  bearings  are  required 
of  the  Mount  of  Olives,  Bethlehem,  &c.  2.  The 
elevations  round  the  city  require  to  be  explored,  and 
the  names  ascertained  from  Jewish  or  Arab  natives : 
in  particular,  the  hill  on  the  N.W.  called  Mount 
Gihon,  and  that  oa  the  N.  supposed  to  be  Scopo, 
where  Titus  encamped  ;  by  some  fixed  on  as  the 
site  of  Calvary.  (Nos.  90  and  88  in  Dr.  Richard- 
son's Ichnographical  Plan.)  Also  the  Hill  of  Evil 


372  APPENDIX. 

Council  (Dr.  Clarke's  Mount  Zion),  S.  of  the  city ; 
and  the  mountain  which  rises  from  the  bed  of  the 
Kedron  on  the  S.E.  3.  The  course  and  distribution 
of  the  aqueduct  from  Solomon's  Pools  to  Jerusalem, 
and  the  cisterns  which  supply  the  present  city,  are 
deserving  of  investigation.  4.  The  course  of  the 
Tyropo3on,  supposed  to  be  a  line  drawn  transversely 
from  near  the  Castle  of  the  Pisans  to  the  Pool  of 
Siloam  (No.  31).  5.  The  sepulchre  of  David  on  Mount 
Zion,  and  the  ruins  between  Mount  Zion  and  the 
mosque  of  Omar.  6.  The  ravine  crossed  by  the  road 
to  St.  John's  in  the  Desert.  7-  Ruins  of  a  tower 
opposite  to  Bethlehem  gate.  8.  Turkish  oratory  be- 
yond the  cemeteries  N.  of  the  city,  and  near  the 
Dragon's  Pool  —  query,  its  history?  9.  The  source 
and  course  of  the  Kedron.  10.  The  cryptce  on  the 
summit  of  olivet,  described  by  Dr.  E,  D.  Clarke — An 
intelligent  Jew  would  probably  be  found  the  best 
cicerone. 

At  Nablous,  the  Beer-el-Samaria,  the  Beer-el- 
Yakoub,  and  the  Beer-el- Yusef ;  the  ruins  on  Mount 
Gerizim  and  Mount  Ebal;  and,  between  this  route 
and  the  Jordan,  the  site  of  Bethel.  The  road  from 
Nablous  to  Cesarea  might  be  worth  exploring. 

In  Galilee,  the  site  of  Zabulon,  of  Jotapata,  of 
Capernaum,  and  of  Dan  (query,  Daphne?).  Also, 
the  bearing  and  extent  of  the  Lake  of  Tiberias,  and 
the  plains  and  wadys  on  its  western  coast.  The 
sources  of  the  water  of  Hasbeia  and  Tel-el-Kadi,  and 
their  junction  with  the  stream  of  Panias. 


END  OF  PALESTINE. 


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